UNICEF estimates that one billion children globally are at “extremely high” risk of suffering from impacts of the climate crisis. The need for action has never been more urgent. The climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis.
Since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989, unprecedented gains have been made for children. However, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2018), Special Report on Global Warming warns the progress risks undermining the escalating climate crisis, which poses an acute threat to children’s survival, development and well-being.
Short-term Thinking as a Triple Threat of Water-Related Crisis is Endangering the Lives of Africa’s Children
On August 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child affirmed children’s right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment under General Comment No. 26. During the 2023 Human Rights Council the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr.Volker Türk, deplored that despite all the alarm bells going off, leaders were still not acting with the determination required and getting “stuck in the short term”.
“If this is not a human rights issue, what is?”, he asked.
Africa is facing a water catastrophe. While the climate and water-related shocks are escalating globally, the risks compound most for children in Africa; 40% of Africa’s population was under 15 years old in 2022. Children in 98 percent of African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats: Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene; Its related diseases; and Climate hazards. This is most acute in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia, and Guinea-Bissau making West and Central Africa one of the world’s most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions.
If the water sector is going to attain safe water for all then it should deliberately make efforts to move from pilots and projects to systems change and to scale and move from policy development to policy implementation. Potentially innovative finance should focus on funding rural water solutions in an environment with strong institutional frameworks to attain sustainable impact. Building upon the insights of the previous blog under the same title “Service Delivery Management Models, Good Political and Water Governance for Strong Rural Water Systems”, this blog explores the institutional reforms driving a resilient rural water sector. Learn about the significance of Kakamega County Rural Water and Sanitation Corporation (KACRWASCO) activities and other key strategies for achieving scale and long-term sustainability in rural water service provision.
Kakamega County Government Scales Sustainable Rural Water Service Delivery Models
If the water sector is going to attain safe water for all then it should deliberately make efforts move from pilots and projects to systems change and to scale and move from policy development to policy implementation.
In spite of significant investments in Kakamega County’s Rural water supply over the past years, that brought improved access rates, still the water service levels was a big challenge in the Year 2016. Two main challenges existed: (1) Inadequate deteriorating sources and dilapidated infrastructure to meet the demand of the increasing population and (2) Weak institutional capacity to manage the facilities viably.
According to the Kakamega County Water Supply and Urban Sewerage Strategic Plan, (2015-2019) the functionality rates in the county were un-known however 61% of the residents (urban and rural) used improved water sources. Rural water coverage was at 30% according to the Lake Victoria North Water Works Development Agency (LVNWWDA) reports. This meant that 70% of the rural population probably had access to un-improved sources attributing to the county’s slow pace in attaining Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) then. Despite the existence of the rural water supplies, almost 59% of the functional ones did not perform as per set standards due to lack of professional management.
Some of the institutional arrangements for rural water service delivery were in place however there was need to review the existing ones, to be in tandem with the current water sector devolution dispensation. Using a systemic approach lens it was widely concurred that the technical aspects were not the main constraint to improved water service delivery access rather weak management. Therefore, Sustainable Service Delivery Models emerged as one of the most critical areas to improve in order to respond to the county’s water crisis.
Establishing an Institutional Framework for Resilient Rural Water Management
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 (CoK) Article 43 recognizes that access to safe and sufficient water is a basic human right and assigns under the 4th Schedule the responsibility for water provision and resources management to the county governments in pursuant to article 185 (2), 186 (1) and 187 (2) of the County Governments Act 2012. Further, article 174 (f) of the Constitution provides that one of the objects of devolution is to promote social and economic development and the provision of easily accessible services throughout Kenya. The Water Act 2016 affirms this alongside the National Water Policy 2021 that was being drafted then with clauses on retaining cost recovery principles and ring fencing of the water sector revenue to ensure sustainability. However, the institutional framework for managing the water services delivery in rural areas was still unclear.
Focus on SDMs was fundamental to improving rural water supply sustainability and service levels as it focuses on long-term provision of water services at scale as opposed to the existing discrete one-off community projects. Therefore, a critical determinant of devolution success in Kenya’s Water sector will be how timely the county governments develop and manage resilient systems that are responsive and accountable to public needs. However, Kakamega County still lacked the overall capacity to develop and implement effective institutional framework for SDMs.
The impetus for implementing and scaling promising alternative Service Delivery Management Models from Organisations like SNV was eminent but Scale and Speed proved necessary towards Resilient Rural Water Supplies.
To address these challenges for long term sustainability, from a Systems approach it was imperative that not only should the Service Delivery Management Models be developed but they be anchored on an institutional framework. The USAID KIWASH Project WASH Governance interventions also entailed supporting County Governments systematically improve rural water service delivery through stimulating local government support and political commitment, budget allocations and financing for WASH. Subsequently, the Project’s activities in Kakamega county ambitiously aimed at supporting its County Government establish a legal County Rural Water Service Provider.
The Approach and Process
Section 93 (1), (2) and (3) of the Water Act 2016 provides for Water Service Providers and County Governments to establish different water services delivery options. The County Executive Committee Member (CEC) in-charge of Kakamega Water Department directed adoption of Service Delivery Management options after a situational analysis report by USAID-KIWASH Project on status of targeted rural water supplies including a market research, willingness and ability to pay for water services and commercial viability. This was done concurrently with exchange visits to successful peer WSPs under various SDMs including Nakuru Rural Water and Sanitation Co. and Tachasis Water and Sanitation Company as part of lobbying and awareness creation for legislators to support the process.
Public Consultations and Handover of rural water projects:
The Water Act 2016, section 139 (1)-(6) requires a public consultation on intent to improve water services provision through SDMs. The CECM through the Kakamega County Assembly Legislators on the Water and Environment Committee held 12 public participation exercises across all the sub-counties and entered into negotiations and agreements with asset owners towards establishing a rural water services provider to manage rural service provision affirmed by Section 94 (2)(3).
The CECM with advice from director water services commissioned handing-over of targeted rural water supplies upon a situational assessment, viability analysis and agreed service delivery option. The director of water services provided a comprehensive inventory of all assets and liabilities: human resources, entire infrastructure (hardware and software) customer inventories, cash and bank balances and project history; all the assets and liabilities were evaluated at current values. Handing over tools included earlier registration documents, the deed of hand-over/surrender and Water services regulations.
Management Contracting, Licensing and Operationalisation:
The management model adopted was the Rural Water Service Provider as illustrated in Figure 2 below; the unserved area was large it was necessary to have an entity the county will ensure the right to water is met for the rural communities. USAID-KIWASH Project supported Kakamega County Department of Water to follow due process in forming the Rural WSP with institutional setup, planning and investments and monitoring and evaluation activities. This was important since Section 104 of the County Government Act provides that these plans shall be the basis for all budgeting and spending in the county. No public funds shall be appropriated without a planning framework developed by the county executive committee and approved by the county assembly. In consultation with WASREB Kakamega County Department of Water ensured that they meet all the requirements set out under section 77 (2), (3) and (4) of the Water Act 2016. The Kakamega County Rural Water and Sanitation Corporation Bill 2019 was developed and Kakamega County Rural Water Co (KACRWASCO) was registered as a rural water service provider as a public limited liability company and applied for a license including a proposed tariff from the national regulator (WASREB) to ensure compliance with requirements to keep them accountable and viable in their service provision area. Procedurally a new Management, Board of Directors and staff were acquired. Formation of County Rural WSP.
Figure 2 Illustrating SDM for Formation of County Rural WSP
Investment Planning, Financing and Coordination
Kakamega County Department of Water alongside USAID-KIWASH Project kicked off the process of development of operational policies and plans (County Water Strategies, Water Master Plans, Policies, Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks, Procurement Guidelines, Consumer Engagement Strategy and CIDP) in accordance to Water Act,2016 Section 94. Additionally, Kakamega County Government allocated targeted subsidy to enable KACRWASCO to meet operation and maintenance costs and increase coverage to rural areas. They also partnered with various Organisations including the Private sector through Acacia Mining on a tripartite agreement to serve 15,000 people and DANCO on leasing of equipment including metres and HDPE pipes and state corporations including Water Sector Trust Fund and Lake Victoria North Water Works Development Agency (LVNWWDA) on financing water infrastructure like tanks, water kiosks and so on . Pursuant to section 94(3) of the Water Act 2016, the County Governments should develop water infrastructure which may be managed a WSPs. Subsequently the county government have invested US$3Million in both urban and rural water sector between 2016-2021.
KACRWASCO ring fences revenues to meet operational and maintenance costs and undertake service expansion against approved annual investment plans and budgets. National and County Government entities, departments, agencies coordinate in the development and provision of rural water services in the County through them. Non state entities consult and coordinate with KACRWASCO through County Government regarding development and provision of rural water services in the County.
Performance Monitoring and Reporting
KACRWASCO continues to ensure they provide accurate and verified monitoring and evaluation key performance data as set out by WASREB. The County Government sits in the BOD and inspects and monitor elements of water services delivery from the monthly status reports to undertake appropriate remedial measures to ensure effective service delivery.
Moving Forward
The activities towards the establishment of KARWASCO resulted to increased Kakamega County’s rural water coverage from 30% to 57% between 2016-2021 with over 569,600 people accessing safely managed drinking water services and an additional 271,984 accessing basic drinking water services. County investments in the WASH sector were at US$26Million during the Financial Year 2016-2022.
When governments deliver services as per the needs of the people they serve, they can increase public satisfaction and reduce costs. New thinking is needed to deliver the benefits of rural water infrastructure investments to eliminate waste given the dwindling water sector funding. Cognizant of the essential central role that rural water supply systems play towards the progressive realization of the right to water and improving livelihoods to alleviate poverty amid limited Water sector funding, it is imperative that professionalization in management of these systems is adopted at scale with speed. Kakamega’s unfunctional rural water projects successfully increased their integration into formal markets, with closer relationships to WSPs like KACWASCO, counties and institutional actors.
Rural Water Sector Funding had consistently lagged investment needs to address system issues; however, when investment was directed towards well-executed projects that improved outcomes for the network crowding in by market actors increased. Better procurement and vendor contracting were two of the primary mid-term levers that supported small capital-expenditure projects make more efficient use of capital that improved water coverage.
WASH sector coordination through the Multistakeholder Kakamega County WASH Forum supported acquisition and equitable allocation of additional investments from the private sector, recoverable grants, growth in WSP revenues and 36 percent increase in county investments in WASH sector. The forum also supported lobbying and advocacy activities on citizen Right to Water and responsibility of both levels of government in ensuring they have access to safe water. They demanded their rights during 2017 national elections campaigns pushing politicians to include access to safe water in their manifestos that support measure their performance. After attending a social accountability briefing session on attaining SDG6 in Kakamega County organised by USAID-KIWASH Project in partnership with the Kakamega County DWENR the County coined a Clarion Call Amatsi Khumukurua word in Luhya dialect meaning Water At The Doorstep. Such strong political will supported increase finance and equitable budget allocation for the water sector
Using a citizen-centric approach to delivering government services was helpful in creating ownership of processes and consumers taking responsibility in giving service feedback, paying water bills, reporting leaks, bursts, vandalism. WASREB has begun the process of disseminating the official guidelines for provision of water services in rural and underserved areas in Kenya. This marks WASREB’s first venture into regulation of services in the rural sector, it will significantly increase the uptake of the SDMs, establishing them as the first official guidance of formalizing water services provision in rural areas.
In closing this blog series, the significance of strong political and administrative governance, transformative partnerships, and adaptive strategies shines through in building a resilient rural water sector. Prioritizing safe water access for all and fostering collaboration pave the way for a sustainable water future, fostering prosperity and inclusivity. Thank you for joining this enlightening journey.
About the author:
Euphresia Luseka is a Water Governance Specialist and Co-Lead of RWSN Leave No-One Behind Theme. She is a seasoned Expert with experience in leadership, strategy development, partnerships and management in WASH sector nationally, regionally and internationally. She has specialised in WASH Public Policy, Business Development Support Strategies and Institutional Strengthening of urban and rural WASH Institutions. Euphresia has several publications and research work in her field.
India’s rural stepwells (or vavs, baolis or jhalaras) mark past relationships between communities and local water supply. Today, many are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as historical sites of heritage. But, in the face of modern-day challenges, this second blog in a two-part series asks, what future lies ahead for these water sources with their intricate architecture, and for their local rural communities? To find out, I went to Adalaj Ni Vav near to Ahmedabad, Gujarat in early 2023.
Gujarat’s rural vavs: under threat from competing demands
More than just a water point, Adalaj Ni Vav is steeped in history with a story of love and tragedy. Yet, as nearby Adalaj village expands to meet the demands of this tourist hotspot, changing surroundings and competing priorities bring new challenges for the future conservation of this stepwell, and others like it. Buses arriving with tourists lack drop off spots. I saw the congestion on the roads leading to the well in the absence of an auto rickshaw stand, with vehicles, pedestrians and street vendors fighting for space.
The water body in the stepwell is also under threat. Local women no longer climb down Adalaj’s steps to collect water. Over time, the water has been polluted due to the influx of visitors dumping plastic into it, contaminating it, and leaving it stagnated, and no longer fit for use[i]. The Urban Management Centre[ii]’s work with the jhalaras of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has identified challenges of overflowing and flooding during monsoon seasons. As piped water supply reaches every household, water is not collected from the stepwells and they stand neglected. This is despite them being part of a network of natural and artificial reservoirs where upstream water bodies collect the water and transfer it downstream. Lessons can be taken from this work in India’s cities to adopt a renewal approach for the adaptive re-use of rural stepwells such as Adalaj Ni Vav and others.
Sustaining Gujarat’s vavs
At present, there is significant focus on the maintenance and restoration of the sculptural elements of Adalaj Ni Vav, through protective guards that stop the many visitors from directly interacting with the structure, and vigilant caretakers ensuring their upkeep. Coverings over the octagonal well demonstrates the efforts being taken to prevent the water being contaminated by visitors dropping waste from outside the structure into the well.
Covering at the top of the structure to protect the well (Photo: Amita Bhakta)
Protecting and sustaining Gujarat’s vavs for the future also requires interventions from external organisations. Aside from the protection granted for Adalaj by the Archaeological Survey of India, it comes under nearby Ahmedabad’s recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gujarat’s Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has been pivotal in efforts to clean the stored water in the state’s vavs, and has a role to play in supporting local authorities to conserve stepwells such as Adalaj for the longer term. As heritage sites, there remains a challenging balance to strike in the longer term. Whilst creating a ‘tourism zone’ through public-private partnerships can generate much needed revenue for the local economy, the re-use of the vav as an attraction should not come at a cost of further harm to the vav from pollution. Ensuring public awareness of the need to conserve vavs as markers of India’s water history is key.
Sustaining vavs for the future involves curation. Stepwells could be turned into ‘living’ water ‘museums’ to teach future generations about the importance of water security as climate change takes hold in India. Converting stepwells to water museums can create awareness of the rich history and the role that Adalaj and other vavs played in supplying water, acting as community hubs, and providing livelihoods for well-digging artisans in the past.
Rural stepwells of the past could inspire engineers and architects of today. As we grapple with the challenges of energy security, we should look to vavs for lessons on integrating light and natural ventilation into buildings of the modern era.
Adaptive reuse of rural vavs can be done creatively. The magnificent architecture that strikes tourists as they descend towards the pool of water can provide a temporary backdrop for outdoor concerts and art exhibitions. Water festivals at stepwells, which can provide exhibition spaces, can incorporate traditional music and stories of their rich past, to educate younger generations about their historical roots and recognise the cultural significance of stepwells for their ancestors.
Looking ahead
Gujarat’s rural stepwells may no longer fulfill their traditional purpose of supplying water, but there is no need to consign these beautiful structures to the past. Let’s look forwards towards routes to celebrate and keep India’s rural water history alive. It’s time we worked together to ensure stepwells continue to play a role in our lives in creative ways.
Acknowledgement
Special thanks to my friend, Mona Iyer, for facilitating this field visit, and to Mahesh Popat for his brilliant support in the field. Thank you to the secretariat for their moral support for this work and to Temple Oraeki for reviewing drafts of this blog.
About the author: Amita Bhakta is a freelance consultant and co-lead for the leave no-one behind theme at the Rural Water Supply Network. She has specialised in looking at hidden issues to achieve equity and inclusion in WASH and has a keen interest in rural water heritage in India.
Amita Bhakta at Adalaj Ni Vav, Gujarat, India
Photo credits: Amita Bhakta.
[i] Srivapathy, U. and Salasha T. 2021. Adalaj Stepwell: A Magical Resonance of Architectural Ingenuity. Athens Journal of Architecture – Volume 7, Issue 2 pp. 275-304
[ii] Anurag Anthony, Urban Management Centre, personal communication, March 2023
India: home to almost a fifth of the global population. Yet, its rural communities continue to face challenges in accessing water, due to overextraction depleting groundwater, poor recharge, and increased demand for water as industries expand and the rural economy grows. Ensuring water security for the future requires us to learn from the past. Across India, rural populations once met their water needs through ingenious feats of architecture in the form of stepwells (or baolis or vavs). I went to visit Adalaj Ni Vav (Rudabai Stepwell), on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat in February 2023. In this two-part blog series, I reflect on the lessons we can learn about the significance of stepwells for India from past uses of Adalaj (part 1) and look ahead the role that stepwells could play in the future (part 2).
What are stepwells?
Stepwells are linear buildings. Steps lead down to landings with pavilions that house two shrines, and columns which make them resemble a room, followed by more steps, until reaching a cylindrical well at the bottom. The roof of one room becomes the floor of the pavilion above. Gujarat’s stepwells range from 60 to 80-feet in depth, with their upper-most landings receiving the most light, screened by walls known as Jalees to provide shade. Stepwell corridors are open to the sky except where it enters a pavilion. The terraces of stepwells are typically marked by noises and splashes as women beat clothes and scour pots, animals drink and children run around. The stepwells are referred to by landmarks (e.g. station vav), goddesses (e.g. Surya Kundi), patrons (e.g. queen) or place (e.g. Adalaj)[i].
Shrine in a pavillion at Adalaj (Photo: Amita Bhakta)
Adalaj Ni Vav: a well with a tragic tale
Adalaj Ni Vav is a 75.3-metre-long stepwell laid out in a north-south direction. On my visit, I made my way down one of the three flights of steps arranged in a cross to enter the vav, which are attached to the main stepped corridor leading to the well at the bottom, with an octagonal opening at the top and a pavilion resting on 16 pillars with 4 built-in shrines. The vav was built between 1498-1505 by Sultan Mahmud Begada in honour of Queen Rudrarani, who he promised to marry after it was completed. When the vav was completed, Rudrarani committed suicide by jumping in to the well. Through his grief, the Sultan killed those who built it to prevent another similar vav from being built, who are buried in the graves in the nearby garden i.
Learning from Gujarat’s past links to Adalaj
Adalaj Ni Vav was once a hub for the local community until the British Raj put it and many other vavs into disuse, deeming it unhygienic and introducing taps, pumps and borewells. Rainwater harvesting enabled the community to wash their clothes and feed their animals. Travellers used the vav, built along trade routes to support India’s economic development, as a resting site[ii].
Whilst it is no longer used as a water point, Adalaj’s long-standing spiritual connections to local people can help to sustain the cultural legacy of the stepwell. There is scope to pave a way for the community to continue its traditional purpose as a place of worship. The shrine on the outer wall has long been used and maintained by local Brahmin women to the present day, who worship local goddesses for fertility, health, and family prosperity.
But, it is not just people who stand to benefit from lessons from Adalaj’s past. Birds and animals used to be attracted to the vav as a cool spot, drawn in by food left over from festivals. In an era of global challenges such as climate change, it is important to recognise that the stepwell was once a place where rich biodiversity could flourish.
Moving forward: bridging the history of Gujarat’s stepwells to the future
The history of Gujarat’s rural stepwells reflects the cultural significance they held in the past, and show a need to recognise them as previous places of sustenance and of continued spiritual value. Whilst it is unlikely that Adalaj will once again serve as a water point, it can provide a place for biodiversity to flourish, and has the potential to teach and reengage local communities with their own water management systems for future preservation, particularly in these parts of Gujarat where drilling for petroleum is creating depressions in the water table. Let’s recognise the collective memory of Gujarat’s rural stepwells as historical sites of interest and work to preserve these ancient structures for the future.
Acknowledgement
Special thanks to my friend, Mona Iyer, for facilitating this field visit, and to Mahesh Popat for his brilliant support in the field. Thank you to the secretariat for their moral support for this work and to Temple Oraeki for reviewing drafts of this blog.
About the author: Amita Bhakta is a freelance consultant and co-lead for the leave no-one behind theme at the Rural Water Supply Network. She has specialised in looking at hidden issues to achieve equity and inclusion in WASH and has a keen interest in rural water heritage in India.
Photo credits: Amita Bhakta.
References
[i] National Institute of Design (1992) Adalaj village: a course documentation Ahmedabad: National Institute of Design
Our friends from End Water Poverty, Water Integrity Network & partners invite you to join to this UN 2023 Water Conference side event ‘Hearing the Unheard: the Human Right to Water and Sanitation‘ & its digital campaign #HearingTheUnheardHRWS which aims to amplify the call for global action to HRWS for the vulnerable groups.
The goal of the campaign #HearingTheUnheardHRWS is to generate multi-stakeholder conversations; to raise awareness and gather key messages, opinions and recommendations that shall inform commitments, pledges, actions, initiatives and endeavours for vulnerable groups who are left behind towards realising HRWS. The campaign consists on sharing videos & live testimony of the experiences, agency and demands of marginalised groups from across the globe with responses from the Special Rapporteur, OHCHR and governments
As provided by UN OHCR, groups in vulnerable situations include: Children and adolescents, Women and Girls, Indigenous peoples, LGBTI, Migrants Refugees Asylum seekers, Older persons, Persons with disabilities.
We are handing over the mic to all WASH stakeholders to share their experiences, stories and views on improving WASH access for vulnerable groups. The campaign gives an opportunity for everyone to follow these experiences and views, get inspired by the vulnerable groups, reform champions, activists and advocates who are making a difference every single day, and find out how to can take action.
How to participate in the digital campaign:
The campaign requires original content in the form of shareable media, photographs, quotes, blog posts and videos, to promote the voices of vulnerable groups. This material will be shared through Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. If you are interested to participate please take this into account:
Record A Short, Social Media-Friendly Video (Maximum 1 Minute) Or Take Photographs Or Share A Quote Or Write A Blog (Maximum 300 Words With A Photograph) Reflecting:
Impacts: How does lack of (adequate, affordable, acceptable) water and sanitation affect your community/ group?
Actions: What existing initiatives or actions have you taken to address this?
Responses: What responses have you received from the government?
Support: What support and action do you want to see from the international community/ UN?
N.B. If you do not have a social media handle or profile, you can also send your content to equity@dgroups.org
Side Event: Hearing the Unheard. the Human Right to Water and Sanitation
The side event session is hosted on March 23, 2023, 3:00PM-4:30PM EST Time in Hybrid mode. Registrations to participate in this side event of the UN 2023 Water Conference here
To learm more about this side event session and the organisations involved, please find hereunder the concept note on Hearing the Unheard: the Human Right to Water and Sanitation side event.
This year we are celebrating 30 years since the Rural Water Supply Network was formally founded. From very technical beginnings as a group of (mostly male) experts – the Handpump Technology Network – we have evolved to be a diverse and vibrant network of over 13,000 people and 100 organisations working on a wide range of topics. Along the way, we have earned a reputation for impartiality, and become a global convener in the rural water sector.
RWSN would not be what it is today without the contributions and tireless efforts of many our members, organisations and people. As part of RWSN’s 30th anniversary celebration, we are running a blog series on rwsn.blog, inviting our friends and experts in the sector to share their thoughts and experiences in the rural water sector.
This is a blog post from a RWSN Thematic Lead, Euphresia Luseka, from Kenya
“In Diversity there is beauty and there is strength”
Maya Angelou
Diversity is the difference. People are the same and different by their ethnic, age, professional experience, religion, race, and gender.
Let’s agree that women’s contributions and leadership are central to providing solutions to water challenges. Consequently, the water sector needs a more diverse labour force to establish a more inclusive and equitable experience for all its practitioners. By highlighting the scale of issues facing female Water leaders, we can better understand their challenges, and galvanize action for progressive, systemic change while examining other robust potential and scalable solutions.
The current women’s underrepresentation in water sector leadership is a prominent concern. According to a World Bank publication on Women in Water Utilities, women are significantly underrepresented; less than 18% of the workforce sampled were women, one in three utilities sampled had no female engineers and 12% of utilities have no female managers. Referencing the analysis of the employment data from participating organizations in a FLUSH LLC publication that I co-authored, white males from High-Income Countries comprised over a third of all sanitation leadership positions. With regards to race, two-thirds of all sanitation leaders were white, with white leaders 8.7 times more likely to hold multiple positions across different organizations than Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC). BIPOC Women were the least represented group.
This affirms the importance of an intersectional perspective in advancing gender and racial equity in the water sector leadership.
Women and specifically BIPOC female water leaders are missing out on opportunities in the water sector that hold the promise of advancement of SDG6 targets and the rising economic security that comes with it.
Without diverse leadership, the water sector will continue to experience failure.
Are there consequences for this?
Gender diversity in the Water sector is not only a pressing political, moral and social issue but also a critical economic challenge. There are consequences for not having women in water leadership, the financial consequences are significant.
The untapped and unmeasured contribution of women is enormous. Women make up half the world’s population but generate 37% of the global GDP, reflecting the fact that they have unequal access to labour markets, opportunities, and rights. A McKinsey & Co study found that companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians. Companies in the bottom quartile in these dimensions are statistically less likely to achieve above-average returns.
Beyond that, compared to senior-level men, senior-level women have a vast and meaningful impact on an organization’s culture; they champion racial and gender diversity more.
Unfortunately, given the high male dominance in the Water sector they are usually the “Onlys” – the only or one of the only women hence more resistance, sharper criticism especially on affirming their competence, more prejudice, and more experience to micro-aggressions.
If women leaders are not present in the workforce, women at all levels lose their most powerful champions.
Absolutely, diversity wins and here are some examples of what I mean.
Though many ambitious women in water desire to advance into leadership positions, very few have the managerial and Ally support to get and keep those positions. Though many employees perceive themselves as our Allies, they do not take enough action such as publicly advocating for racial or gender equality, publicly confronting discrimination, publicly mentoring and sponsoring them. Though women in water have the capacity to lead in the sector, there exist geographic mismatches between them and opportunities, we remain underrepresented and paid less. Though many organizations are hiring more women to entry-level positions numbers dwindle at management level, particularly for BIPOC women.
This obviously has a long-term impact on the talent pipeline; eventually, there are fewer women to hire, fewer to promote to senior managers and overall fewer women in the sector. If women continue encountering the sticky floor, a broken rung on the ladder to success, and a revolving door in entry-level jobs, we might never break the glass ceiling.
Women can never catch up with this status quo!
But why are we missing and losing women in water leadership?
We have come from so far as a sector but have moved very little on Gender parity at the workplace.
To give an illustration, the United Nations organized four outstanding world conferences for women: 1) at Mexico City in 1975; establishing the World Plan of Action and Declaration of Equality of Women and their Contribution to Development and Peace. 2) The Copenhagen conference in 1980, 3) the Nairobi Conference in my country Kenya, in 1985 4) in Beijing in 1995 which marked a significant turning point for the global agenda on gender equality with an outcome of a global policy document.
27 years later, still the water sector is investing in the same gender challenges emerging from gender norms that are stuck with us generation after generation.
Women’s dual roles and time burden affect their economic productivity however inequalities in access to education impact their growth attributing to the high rates of poor women. Therefore, the woman in water at work and society starts at a disadvantaged position.
This affirms the supposition that instead of making transformation the goal in gender and water sector leadership, how about we make it a way of doing business?
Are women better leaders than men?
As demonstrated in Eagly (2007) study, women are manifesting leadership styles associated with effective performance. On the other hand, there appears to be widespread recognition that women often come in second to men in leadership competitions. Women are still suffering disadvantage in access to leadership positions as well as prejudice and resistance when they occupy these roles. It is more difficult for women than men to become leaders and to succeed in male-dominated leadership roles. This mix of apparent advantage and disadvantage that women leaders experience reflects the considerable progress towards gender equality that has occurred in both attitudes and behaviour, coupled with lack of complete attainment of this goal. Although prejudicial attitudes do not invariably produce discriminatory behaviour, such attitudes can limit women’s access to leadership roles and foster discriminatory evaluations when they occupy such roles.
It is time for Women to take up power, are they?
The 20th-century paradigm shift championed by UN towards gender equality has not ceased as affirmed by the profound changes taking place in diversity targets in the Water sector. The trends are clear that women are ascending towards greater power and authority. The presence of more women in water leadership positions is one of the clearest indicators of this transformation.
The central question of gender equality is a question of power, we continue to live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture. Power is not given, power is taken; we have to push back against the resistance to change, as advised by António Guterres, Secretary General, United Nations.
Photo 3: Water Utility Staff during a Non-Revenue Water management training, Kenya, 2022
How do we sustain the gains?
Focus and execution discipline not only makes a big difference, it is the only thing that can sustain change. It is noteworthy that placing a higher value on diversity and implementing targeted initiatives have not closed the representation gaps for women leaders in Water and especially BIPOC Women, with most outcomes remaining elusive despite scaling up of initiatives.
Useful data can resolve this; effective policies are informed best by evidence. We cannot change what we do not measure and we cannot measure what we do not know. Therefore, borrowing from President Biden’s approach upon issuing an executive order on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities, I guide, assess institutional gender capacity to build a robust pipeline for women in water professionals at all levels of-management.
Inquire what actions can influence diverse representation in the water sector leadership towards an inclusive environment where women feel supported by peers and leaders.
Co-creation will be key in strategically prioritising interventions addressing necessary changes across the organisation, progress cannot be made in silos. Collaborative efforts galvanise collective action that will build trust across the organization. Focus should not take a gender-neutral approach; some interventions can specifically focus on men others women as a corrective measure to enhance leadership diversity. This shall move the process of change through equality to equity to justice.
Empowering and equipping management to not only develop technical and managerial skills but advance female leaders and mainly BIPOC could follow. Use influencers to drive change. Translate allyship into action across all levels. Maintain open communication and feedback channels. Reinforce and scale what works and re-envision what does not. Measure and celebrate progress towards diversity outcomes.
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I thought I would support transforming the water sector instead it transformed me. This blog is dedicated to Leslie Gonzalez, Director of Project Delivery, Africa at DAI. I acknowledge the efforts of Portia Persley Division Chief, RFS/Center for Water Security, Sanitation and Hygiene at USAID, Heather Skilling, Principal Global Practice Specialist, WASH at DAI, and Dr. Leunita Sumba, at WIWAS. History will remember your efforts in advancing women in water, working with you is like working with the change you want to see in the water sector.
Photo credits: Euphresia Luseka
About the author:
Euphresia Luseka is a Water Governance Specialist and Co-Lead of RWSN Leave No-One Behind Theme. She is a seasoned Expert with experience in leadership, strategy development, partnerships and management in WASH sector nationally, regionally and internationally. She has specialised in WASH Public Policy, Business Development Support Strategies and Institutional Strengthening of urban and rural WASH Institutions. Euphresia has several publications and research work in her field.
Did you enjoy this blog? Would you like to share your perspective on the rural water sector or your story as a rural water professional? We are inviting all RWSN Members to contribute to this 30th anniversary blog series. The best blogs will be selected for publication. Please see the blog guidelines here and contact us (ruralwater[at]skat.ch) for more information. You are also welcome to support RWSN’s work through our online donation facility. Thank you for your support.
This year we are celebrating 30 years since theRural Water Supply Network was formally founded. From very technical beginnings as a group of (mostly male) experts – the Handpump Technology Network- we have evolved to be a diverse and vibrant network of over 13,000 people and 100 organisations working on a wide range of topics. Along the way, we have earned a reputation for impartiality, and become a global convener in the rural water sector.
RWSN would not be what it is today without the contributions and tireless efforts of many our members, organisations and people. As part of RWSN’s 30th anniversary celebration, we are running a blog series on rwsn.blog, inviting our friends and experts in the sector to share their thoughts and experiences in the rural water sector.
This is a guest blog by RWSN Member Bethlehem Mengistu, based in Ethiopia.
I joined the water sector after working in the broader development space for several years, largely on gender equality, good governance, human rights and civil society strengthening. I chose the water sector because its direct impact on people’s lives was so vivid. On a lighter note, my ‘Aha!’ moment was when I was able to easily explain my work to my 5-year-old niece which reaffirmed its value as well as the relevance of my career choice. I have learned that the most meaningful choices are easily understood as they are closely linked to serving others and positively impacting lives. Having worked in the water sector for over many years, I have had the opportunity to work with and contributed in various roles- from Senior Advisor, Pan African Manager to Country Director in international NGOs, bilateral/donor organisations, and civil society.
The overarching highlight across these roles is the amazing impact access to water has on communities – women, men, girls and boys. The immediate impacts are often obvious – access to water saves lives; it enables the potential for a life of dignity and health. However, the most exciting impacts are the more subtle social and psychological impacts we often gloss over in our reports because they are difficult to quantify.
I fondly recall my proud moments from my visits to project sites where the return on investment from water resulted in better health, quality education and stronger government institutions. Some of the stories of change and impact still resonate with me; they are reminders that while there is still a lot more work to be done to ensure universal access, a lot of good work has already been registered. I remember meeting a man in a maternal and child health centre, which recently gained access to running water, stating that he was able to attend the birth of his child because he didn’t have to spend time fetching clean water to the birthing ward for the delivery.
Another story that stuck with me was my visit to a Rural Water board, a type of community-run utility, in 2017 in Ethiopia. The scheme was constructed in 1996 with 80 public taps and 143 km of pipeline. The scheme has expanded its service over time and at the time of my visit, it was serving 13 villages, with nearly 4000 domestic connections, and accumulated savings of ETB 3.8m (approximately US$160,000). The project was handed over to the utility several decades ago, it was a time when ‘systems oriented’ programming was lesser known but presents evidence that thinking beyond the immediate gains i.e. access rates, and considering elements that keep the service running are key to sustainable results. This model of water supply management challenged the conventional notion that communities are not able to manage large or complex water supply schemes. The model also conveyed that economies of scale are achievable with a skilled team of staff to effectively run the water scheme supported by robust governance and accountability structures.
But what do these results really mean on the broader narrative of how we (implementers), as well as donors, qualify results and success from water projects? It is essentially about the long game, about re-imagining what qualifies as a successful and transformative water program. Thinking beyond boreholes and pumps onto partnerships that enable government and national leadership, institutional building, lifecycle costing, operation and maintenance, inclusion and equity, and various other aspects. A typical response to this thinking might be: People need water today so why complicate things by talking about complex concepts? Well, the normative approach to project-based investment is not resulting in transformative and sustainable water services! If we are looking to make low service levels and failed water points a narrative of the past, a comprehensive and systemic approach to tackling sustainability is the most viable pathway.
The challenges during my leadership journey in the water sector were largely linked to the fact that I didn’t have a large pool of female peers to learn from and share challenges with. This required me to cultivate my own ‘sister circle’ which is critical for both professional and personal growth. Like most development sectors issues of intersectionality and localisation are visible in the water sector, diversity in representation especially in leadership and decision-making roles can gain from change. In many of the spaces I was part of during my career I was amongst the few women present in the rooms and the more senior the leadership role, i.e.: Director or Senior Advisor, the fewer the number of women present. This was especially vivid when I was attending sector meetings with government ministries, investors and other stakeholders. Across both public and non-government spaces, it is usually the case that most senior roles are occupied by senior men who have been in their roles for an extended period. While this may add value to institutionalising practices, it has adversely impacted innovation, equality, and inclusivity in policy and practice. This requires a course correction because inclusion and localisation are effective pathways to sustainable outcomes that will get us closer to realising universal access to water. It will be difficult to expect a different result if we are applying the same approach to tackling problems.
Given that diversity and inclusion is a recognizable challenge in our sector useful efforts by RWSN to promote mentorship programs for young professionals and women in water have been quite useful. It is evident that other platforms are also taking the learnings and nuggets to shape similar interventions, including Agenda for Change’s upcoming Women in WASH mentorship program. It also points to the immense value RWSN has had over the years in brokering resources, learnings, and practices amongst sector actors. Over the course of several years, the network has been the go-to for knowledge, resources, and contacts for water practice and practitioners.
Looking forward it is clear that delivering universal access where no one is left behind will require a systems-oriented, innovative and dynamic approach. Collaboration and partnership present opportune avenues for water sector actors to punch above their unilateral weight to achieve collective impact in light of increasingly complex operating spaces. The pandemic has highlighted that water is not only a development target in itself but also, more importantly, an enabler of most other SDG targets. It is observed that communities with high levels of access are resilient to health or environmental shocks. Investing in water is just good business sense, the social impact is the bonus. I expect that going forward the interface of the water sectors with other sectors (health, nutrition, food security) will become increasingly prominent as contexts remain unpredictable. Linked to these emerging factors I appreciate my current role as Global Coordinator for Agenda for Change, a global platform that convenes key water sector actors to collectively tackle notable challenges facing the sector to accelerate sustainable universal access. Over the coming years, I hope to continue to contribute to and influence the sector in a senior global role while championing equality and inclusive approaches for lasting impact.
About the author: Bethlehem is a long-time global WASH expert with a passion for building collaboration, partnerships, and systems approaches. She is currently the Global Coordinator of Agenda for Change. She has over 18 years of experience in the development sector and deep knowledge of African policy, spanning the areas of WASH, gender equality, human rights and governance. Throughout her career, she has provided technical advice to governments, development partners, and technical teams and held multiple leadership roles where she advanced programmatic impact and influence in Ethiopia, and more widely in East Africa and parts of the Asia region.
Did you enjoy this blog? Would you like to share your perspective on the rural water sector or your story as a rural water professional? We are inviting all RWSN Members to contribute to this 30th anniversary blog series. The best blogs will be selected for publication. Please see the blog guidelineshere and contact us (ruralwater[at]skat.ch) for more information. You are also welcome to support RWSN’s work through ouronline donation facility. Thank you for your support.
Posted on WaterAid blog on 1 May 2020 in Equality, inclusion and human rights, re-posted on RWSN blog on 4 May 2020. Authors: Louisa Gosling, Naomi Carrard, Hannah Neumeyer and Virginia Roaf.
WaterAid/ James Kiyimba
Empowering and increasing the dignity of marginalised and vulnerable people will help us emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with healthier societies and revitalised opportunities for development and peace. Louisa Gosling, Naomi Carrard, Hannah Neumeyer and Virginia Roaf outline how applying the principles of human rights can save lives now and in the future.
The virus does not discriminate, but its impacts – and our responses – do.
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
We are all doing our best to minimise the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Overwhelmingly, the response across the world has been to reduce transmission through distancing, handwashing and strengthening public health systems. We know water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are central to the COVID-19 response. So how can human rights help?
A human rights lens reveals unexpected opportunities as we respond to the current crisis and plan for the future. Applying the human rights principles – equality and non-discrimination, participation, transparency, accountability and sustainability – deepens WASH responses to COVID-19, helping to both protect everyone now and build more equitable and sustainable societies.
What we do now will shape the post-COVID world and our resilience to future threats, whether climate change or other health crises.
Equality and non-discrimination
The risks COVID-19 presents are not borne equally. We are seeing evidence of this all over the world. Older people, people with health problems, people living in inadequate housing (especially those in dense settlements without access to basic services), homeless people, migrant workers, and those who have to go out to work every day to survive or who are fulfilling a necessary if undervalued role such as care work or street cleaning – all are at higher risk of contracting the virus because they are less able to protect themselves with good hygiene and physical distancing. They are also most severely affected by distancing or lockdown provisions, with eked-out livelihoods vanishing or curtailed.
People who cannot afford to pay their water and sanitation bills risk losing essential services. Independent UN human rights experts have called on governments to prohibit disconnections and to extend continuous access to water for people who don’t already have it. Governments are obliged to ensure access to services. They must intervene so that service providers continue to deliver, and do not face financial challenges in doing so. This is no small feat, given the breadth and diversity of public, private and community water and sanitation services providers, but reinforcing the recognition of these basic services as public services is critical for the realisation of human rights.
As with many areas of development, women – despite their central role – are often ignored or marginalised in decisions, so their needs and the specific risks they face are not considered. But many organisations are researching and documenting the widespread gendered implications of the pandemic and response measures. Gender justice should be central in the WASH response, and there is a growing imperative for collaboration with women’s organisations and leaders to find ways to do this.
Human rights to water and sanitation (and other rights) demand that our response to COVID-19 addresses these inequalities. They promote and protect the voices of people who are discriminated against, marginalised and vulnerable, and ensure responses to the virus proactively include them.
Collaboration between WASH actors and organisations representing the rights of marginalised groups – including those focused on disability, age, slum dwellers, prisoners, children or women – brings new understanding and action that ensures inclusive water and sanitation services. Innovative solutions are already emerging from such collaboration, making hygiene messaging and handwashing facilities accessible for people with disabilities, and relevant to diverse populations in challenging settings.
WaterAid Papua New Guinea
WaterAid Papua New Guinea has provided loud hailers, inks and papers for printing awareness-raising materials, supporting local health authorities in preparedness for COVID-19.
Participation
The AIDS and Ebola epidemics taught the importance of engaging with affected communities. Building trust between government and civil society is critical for suitability, effectiveness and sustainability of responses, to ensure the smooth flow of accurate and helpful information and to avoid indirect or unintended harm.
Physical distancing measures are creating more barriers for many and reducing participation and voice, particularly where participatory processes now rely on the internet. There is a proven gender digital divide, exacerbated by poverty. For example, OECD data indicate that, globally, women are 26% less likely than men are to have a smartphone (70% less likely in South Asia and 34% in Africa).
National coordination mechanisms (such as WASH clusters) should include civil society and organisations representing different sections of the population. This can help governments identify vulnerable people and put in place measures that effectively support those who would otherwise be left behind.
Transparency and access to information are intrinsically linked to participation. If information is not accurate or well-understood by the intended recipients, it has no value. Further, while clear and consistent messaging is important to reinforce behaviour change, it should be tailored to differing contexts. How can people living in informal settlements or remote rural areas respond to ‘wash your hands’ messaging if they don’t have a secure, on-plot supply of water?
To reach the most marginalised people we need to be creative, and to communicate in local languages through a range of channels that are appropriate for the places and people concerned. For example, many countries use radio, such as Tanzania, Rwanda and Nepal, where jingles are even broadcast by loud-hailers to communities without FM coverage. Sign language and braille can be used to reach people with hearing or visual impairments.
And in South Africa residents in informal settlements are monitoring water and sanitation access during the COVID-19 crisis, sharing the data with city authorities and the media. This initiative has already resulted in improved service delivery and new channels of collaboration with city authorities.WaterAid Bangladesh
A man reads awareness-raising messages through a loud hailer around a community in Bangladesh.
Accountability
Accountability between governments, civil society and development agencies is as critical in a crisis as ever. We are seeing unprecedented funds raised and distributed in response to COVID-19, but how these funds will be used and accounted for is not always clear.
Accountability is essential for minimising corruption and for achieving services that are equitable, sustainable and high quality. This is important both for the emergency procurement and distribution of benefits in the immediate response to COVID-19, and for the long-term sustainability of WASH services.
Unfortunately, accountability mechanisms and relationships in WASH are often weak. Civil society networks must be able to advocate for transparency and accountability in the WASH response to this crisis, to monitor how much of the funding made available for the pandemic is invested with human rights considerations and for the sustainable development of WASH services. There may be more opportunities because the pandemic has raised the profile of WASH, which can create space for WASH actors to contribute to broader accountability initiatives. An example linking WASH to the coalition on peace building and state building in Sierra Leone demonstrates this potential.
Governments are also accountable for the way they are imposing containment measures that limit people’s ability to go out, to work, to fetch water and to use toilets. In many countries we are seeing excessive force used to ensure compliance with lockdown, criminalising people who must leave their home to meet basic needs. This violates human rights and can be detrimental to reducing the spread of the virus if it creates fear and destroys trust between government and communities, as learned from the HIV response. In moments of disaster response the values of open government can come under intense pressure – but can also meaningfully contribute to better outcomes where there is strong cooperation and trust between the authorities and the people.
Sustainability
Poor sustainability and service levels are already a huge barrier to the realisation of people’s rights to water and sanitation, often due to weak systems. These can be strengthened or weakened by the way in which we respond to this pandemic.
Sustainability is a human rights principle – we must not lose progress that has been made. The hope for the post-COVID-19 world – if we use human rights to guide us – is to be in a stronger position than before. This means improved access to water and sanitation for vulnerable and marginalised people; that we more deeply understand how to eliminate inequalities; and that we are more prepared for future health risks and the inevitable impacts of climate change.
How we emerge from COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic will have profound and long-lasting impacts on how we all live, work and relate to each other. We are still barely able to imagine the immensity of economic and social change that will emerge.
Human rights put people centre-stage. Empowering and increasing the dignity of people who are currently marginalised and vulnerable will help us emerge from this crisis with healthier societies and revitalised opportunities for development and peace. Human rights principles must guide our responses and will lead us to better, more inclusive, more sustainable results, protecting and saving lives now, and in the future.
Louisa Gosling is WaterAid’s Senior WASH Manager for Accountability and Rights, Naomi Carrard is Research Director at Institute for Sustainable Futures – University of Technology Sydney, Hannah Neumeyer is Head of Human Rights at WASH United and Virginia Roaf is Senior Advisor at Sanitation and Water for All.
This blog is the result of collaboration involving WaterAid, Sanitation and Water for All, Institute for Sustainable Futures – University of Technology Sydney, WASH United, End Water Poverty, Kewasnet, Rural Water Supply Network, Water Youth Network, Hope Spring Water, Simavi and Water Integrity Network.
Authors: Louisa Gosling, Naomi Carrard, Hannah Neumeyer and Virginia Roaf.
By Sara Ahrari (Simavi) RWSN Theme Leader for the Leave no one behind Theme.
Simavi’s Programme Manager, Sara Ahrari, moderated a side event during the UNC Water and Health Conference on 1 November 2018. This event was convened by Simavi, Wateraid, Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN),London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and World Vision (WV). The purpose of this section was to reflect jointly on “who are left behind” from “Use of” and “Participation in decision making processes related to” WASH services, “what are the barriers for their inclusion” and “what can be done and what roles can different WASH stakeholder play to accelerate their inclusion”.
The session started with a short introduction to “Leave No One Behind” Concept in the WASH sector. Afterwards the participants were divided into groups to focus on a specific scenario related to multiple exclusion factors facing by different personas. Initially 8 personas were defined (for elaborated description of the personas, please click here) but based on the number of participants and their interests only 6 personas were discussed in the groups.
The groups were asked to work through the following process to come to recommendations (in form of a pitch) on how “Leave No One Behind” can be reached for the persona in their scenario:
Illustrate using mind map technique draw the barriers faced by the persona as a group
Inspire list anything that inspires them as individuals (people, products, programmes, services, innovations, insights, etc.).
Selection come up with as many ideas/ solutions/ practical recommendation to address the barriers faced by the persona, then cluster all the ideas and select one idea as a group to further work on it
Sketching draw a storyboard using pictures representing the idea or recommendation, who will be impacted by the idea, what would be their experience, the way idea would be rolled out. Prepare your pitch.
Pitch The idea to the plenary in one minute.
After the group work a Ms. Ellen Greggio presented Wateraid experience on using Washington Indicators on disability in their monitoring including the challenges and insights that application of such tool might entail.
Key results of the group exercise
Group 1-Mariette: who lives on daily wages and is a member of WASH committee.
The mind mapping exercise had led to identification of poverty, no support at household when husband is away, time constrain, lack of community support and lack of government support as main barriers faced by Mariette. The selected solutions were:
Share responsibilities: train more members of the committee to be able to do repair work, make sure roles are divided properly and backed up.
Increase awareness among community members/users: to pay their WASH costs (which are affordable) so that the repair work can be paid for; other support in forms of other incentives (i.e. help with the children) and manage expectations
Create a safe platform for everyone to share the experiences and challenges.
An interesting discussion which took place during the group exercise was selection of the “right” person for the committee and “dividing the roles”. While very valid points, one should be careful that defining “right” as people who have time to participate can lead to “leaving those who can’t afford to participate behind”. Also when dividing the roles, it is important to make sure that dominating community role (namely men being the decision maker and women doing the work) will not influence the decision making process. The group pitch can be seen here.
Group 2- Sharon: A young girl living with HIV/AIDS who produces & sells low cost sanitary napkin.
The participants indicated that Sharon is disempowered due to stigma and lack of access to education, has limited voice, suffers from trauma due to loss of her parents and lack of institutionalized support for the poor. The suggested solutions included:
Improved access to WASH services: City authorities, utilities and local government need to ensure that proper pro-poor WASH policies and services are available, provide subsidized tariffs, access to affordable sanitation and hygienic products. Advocacy organisations can influence policies to ensure that this will take place.
Increased learning opportunities: NGOs, faith-based organisations or vocational training institutes can provide skill and entrepreneurship training as well as scholarships.
Enhanced link to social services: Government of NGOs can create youth homes, facilitate peer support and mentorship (female, people with HIV/AIDS and business mentorships).
Group 3- Maria: :A visually impaired girl who is sent out to city to live with her aunt in slum area and earn income through begging on streets.
The main barrier identified for this persona was her visual impairment which in her situation causes dependency on family and strangers for support, poverty, lack of accessible WASH service and transport, unsafe and non-trustworthy environment at home and outside, which leads to mental health problems feeling as a burden and stress.
The group concluded that if Maria can be provided access to school and kept at school, many of these barriers would be overcome. This means that schools need to have inclusive education as well as access to safe sanitation and water. Schools also can facilitate “Eye vision test” and promote measures for preventable visual impairments not to occur. There should be also safe transport to and from school. Also the care-givers (aunt or her family) need to be supported to have increased income. Depending on the country, public awareness raising needs to be done on right to education, children’s right and disability rights. Legal protection and safety nets supports need to be provided to families with people with disabilities. The people with disability also need to be empowered and equipped with skills and knowledge which allows them to live an independent life.
The final pitch of the group can be seen here.
Group 4- Bilegt: A nomad man whose source of water is diminishing and has no access to proper sanitation.
The group had identified the following barriers:
Environmental: harsh environment due to increased effect of climate change and scarcity of water resources.
Social/cultural: due to challenges, there is increased migration to the cities which for Bilegt it means losing “his sense of being” and social support system.
Political: limited political voice and influence of population, conflict with companies, no investment in hydrogeological survey.
Economic: limited access to financial resources, loss of traditional income generating activity.
Physical: difficulty of access due to mobility.
An integrated understanding of solutions, combining bottom-up (socially inclusive) and top-down (sustainable solutions) approaches would be needed according to the group to remove these barriers. The group pitch can be see here.
Group 5- Ruksana: A 15 years old girl without forearms who is pregnant with her 2nd child.
The group identified the main barriers faced by Ruksana to be poverty, lack of support from family or community members, lack of education/trainings, disability, limited availability and distance from water sources, insecure feeling when using the latrine, social stigma inside and outside, married as a child and child pregnancy. The solution thought by group were:
Technological: Accessible toilets with locks which can be operated by people with disability, technology to support mobility, household access to safe drinking water (i.e. through filters).
Services: Accessible education/skill building centres with appropriate courses and technology for people with disability, identification & support by local government, regular follow up/ home visit by government/community health workers, optional services to deliver safe water.
Health: family planning methods (cycle beads), regular home visits by health workers.
Social Engagement & awareness: Awareness raising among different stakeholders (community leaders, men, local government, etc.).
Economic development: Increased livelihood options at the community level.
The group identified access to water and family planning option as priority to improve Ruksana’s situation.
You can see the pitch the group presented here.
Group 6- Amin: A district engineer in charge of WASH service delivery with insufficient resources, needing to prioritise different areas within the district.
Amin’s challenges were found to be rooted in legal, financial, knowledge, political barriers at the national level and cultural, knowledge, communication and financial at the community level. Lack of transparency and proper coordination between these two levels were also identified as a barrier. The solutions suggested by the group were:
Encourage private sector financial investment.
Dedicated structural leadership support to district level staffs.
District management support in communication and planning.
Town halls communicating plans to the communities.
Capacity building at all levels.
Relationship building based on trust.
Cultivating demands and grassroots community planning.
Transfer of power & decision making rights from national to district and lower levels.
The side event had brought together participants from the different background and organisations, namely NGOs, knowledge institutes and government. As we have defined “Active contribution of the participants and lots of ideas not to leave anyone behind” as one of the success indicators for this event, we can say that it a very successful event thanks to the energetic and engaged participants.
We still hope to receive more stories of success (or constructive failures) and increased collaboration on “Leave No One Behind” and to “Reach the Furthest Behind First”. The conveners will continue to promote the dialogue on the topic in different platforms, in particular RWSN “Leave No One Behind” discussion group.
Participants’ feedback
Lena Bunzenmeyer, Global WASH Advisor, CAWST: “ I truly enjoyed the participatory session and I definitely learned a lot. It was by far my favourite session of the entire conference! Would it be possible to get a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that went along with the session? I’d like to bring it up at CAWST as an example of both participatory learning (we love learning new techniques from others!) and also how to approach the topic of inclusive WASH services. Thank you again for your excellent facilitation!”
WaterAid Bangladesh
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 