USAID – Rural Water Supply Network

New REAL-Water activity: Water Sustainability in Southern Madagascar

REAL-Water to coordinate data and actions for the sustainable development of water resources in arid Southern Madagascar.

In Madagascar, there are significant disparities in access to essential water and sanitation services. Currently, only about half of the population (54.4%) has access to vital water services, and just over 10% have access to necessary sanitation services. The situation is particularly challenging in Southern Madagascar, where various development issues, such as population growth, changes in land use, and worsening dry-season water shortages, are present. These difficulties are exacerbated by poverty, which hinders water resource development, leads to poor infrastructure, and contributes to food insecurity.

To guide regional programming that considers the development and humanitarian requirements, USAID Madagascar has commissioned REAL-Water to assess water resources and infrastructure needs. The program will entail specific activities, including a literature review of water development activities, data collection on existing and planned water infrastructure, analyses of remaining water resources and infrastructure needs, and planning for future investments.

Topographical map of Southern Madagascar. — *^{The six districts of interest covered in the assessment are shown on an I-digital elevation model (from the}*^{Shuttle Radar Topography Mission}*^{). Small gray and green polygons indicate areas of human settlement (“Settlement Extents”) from the}*^{GRID3 DATA HUB}*^{. Each settlement extent type (built-up area, small settlement area, and hamlet) is included, with built-up areas depicted in green).}*

Re-blogged from Aquaya. RWSN is proud to be partner in the REAL-Water programme leading on engagement.

Un fondo de préstamos de mil millones de dólares y el camino hacia unos servicios de agua mejor gestionados

As of 2020, Vietnam had the highest levels of rural water coverage among any country of comparable economic level, with coverage equivalent to countries with two to three times its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We were curious: what was the contribution to this success by the billion dollar Asian Development Bank Water Sector Investment Fund (“the Fund”)?

de USAID Global Waters. La RWSN es miembro del consorcio de investigación REAL-Water

En 2020, Vietnam contaba con los niveles más altos de cobertura de agua rural entre cualquier país de nivel económico comparable, con una cobertura equivalente a la de países con dos o tres veces su Producto Interior Bruto (PIB) per cápita. Sentimos curiosidad: ¿cuál fue la contribución a este éxito del Fondo de Inversión en el Sector del Agua del Banco Asiático de Desarrollo, dotado con mil millones de dólares (“el Fondo”)?

Para responder a esta pregunta, invitamos a Hubert Jenny, antiguo miembro del Banco Asiático de Desarrollo (BAD) y actual consultor de UNICEF, a una conversación en el podcast de REAL-Water (disponible en inglés en Anchor, Spotify, y Apple Podcasts, entre otras plataformas).

Un fonds de prêt d’un milliard de dollars et la voie vers des services publics de l’eau mieux gérés

de l’USAID Global Waters. RWSN est membre du consortium de recherche REAL-Water.

En 2020, le Vietnam avait les niveaux les plus élevés de couverture en eau en milieu rural parmi tous les pays de niveau économique comparable, avec une couverture équivalente aux pays ayant deux à trois fois son produit intérieur brut (PIB) par habitant. Nous étions curieux : quelle a été la contribution à ce succès du Fonds d’investissement pour le secteur de l’eau de la Banque asiatique de développement (“le Fonds”), doté d’un milliard de dollars ?

Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons invité Hubert Jenny, anciennement de la Banque asiatique de développement (ADB) et maintenant consultant pour l’UNICEF, pour une conversation sur le podcast REAL-Water (disponible en anglais sur Anchor, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, parmi d’autres plateformes).

A Billion Dollar Loan Fund, and the Path to Better-run Water Utilities

from USAID Global Waters. RWSN is a member of the REAL-Water research consortium

To answer this question, we invited Hubert Jenny, formerly of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and now consulting for UNICEF, for a conversation on the REAL-Water podcast (available on Anchor, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, among other platforms).

RWSN & UPGro at Africa Water Week: WASH Sector Learning and Joint Sector Review sessions // RWSN & UPGro à la Semaine africaine de l’eau

Next week is Africa Water Week (http://africawaterweek.com/6/) , the event that happens every two years that brings Africa governments together to discuss and share experiences on all aspects of water management and WASH, and provides an interface with the latest innovation and research.

If you are attending then please do join RWSN and UPGro partners, UNICEF, IRC, Skat, USAID/WALIS, MWE, Africa GW Network in the following sessions:

Strengthening national capacities for WASH sector learning Continue reading “RWSN & UPGro at Africa Water Week: WASH Sector Learning and Joint Sector Review sessions // RWSN & UPGro à la Semaine africaine de l’eau”

Self-Supply at Scale: Lessons from rural Bangladesh

Shops like this one satisfy local demand for new pumps and replacement parts. Pumps, like ipods, come in a range of colors! (photo: J. Annis, 2013)

by Jonathan Annis is a sanitation and innovation specialist with the USAID-funded WASHplus project (www.washplus.org). His views do not represent those of USAID or the U.S. Government.

I recently traveled to southeastern Bangladesh to support WASHplus’s local implementing partner WaterAid as it begins a multi-year project in the coastal belt. The coastal belt is a marshy delta formed by Himalayan sediments transported thousands of miles by an extensive river network that settle as they reach the Bay of Bengal. Surface water is ubiquitous, and flooding—from tidal flows, excessive rainfall, or cyclones—is an annual event. I had never been in an environment so waterlogged. Continue reading “Self-Supply at Scale: Lessons from rural Bangladesh”

USAID and Rotary International adopt innovative sustainability monitoring tool

A new sustainability tool for WASH

water services that last

By Harold Lockwood –

This is great news and fantastic to see USAID adopting and promoting this approach which aims to really track and better understand the underlying causes of poor sustainability in the WASH sector. Sustaining WASH services is complex and dependent not only the hardware (the pumps, latrines and pipes), but also a range of the so-called software elements, for example reliable management entities, long-term external support and monitoring, adequate financing and so on. Measuring coverage is one thing, looking at functionality is also a useful proxy, but if we really want to know where the pinch-points are and how something so seemingly simple as water flowing out of a tap can fall down, it requires a comprehensive and powerful tool.

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Location Matters: A Small Tweak Brings Clean Water Innovations to 5 Million People

by Maura O’Neill, Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Counselor to the Administrator, USAID

(first appeared: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maura-o/location-matters-a-small-_b_3333535.html)

From the hills of western Kenya to the coastlines of Haiti, blue bins are popping up unexpectedly across local landscapes. These unassuming plastic containers positioned near communal water sources and propped on stands built from local materials, don’t exactly seem like life-saving innovations–but ask the half million people who use them daily, and they will tell you otherwise.

These modest-looking systems are the water purifying Chlorine Dispensers developed by Connecticut-based NGO Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). These systems are designed to bring clean water to beneficiaries like Martin Ouma, the Head Teacher at Busidibu Primary School in Kenya, and his students. Martin tells a common story that is echoed among the communities whose lives are transformed by Chlorine Dispensers: “The dispenser has reduced diarrhea in schools. Standards have gone up, and diseases related to drinking water have been minimized.”

Continue reading “Location Matters: A Small Tweak Brings Clean Water Innovations to 5 Million People”

Sustainability checks, clauses and compacts – USAID and DGIS lead the way

Blog by Stef Smits of IRC on ways that funders can improve sustainability of WASH projects

water services that last

By Stef Smits

Over the past year, there has been quite a bit of buzz in the WASH sector on the sustainability clause that DGIS seeks to include in its contacts with implementers. The pros and cons of this have been widely debated . A key component of the clauses is to have sustainability checks as a way to verify whether sustainability criteria are being met. One of the sessions at the “Monitoring Sustainable WASH Service Delivery Symposium” focused on this kind of approaches, looking back at past experience and at the future outlook for them. Particular emphasis was given to the experiences of two bilateral donors who have been leading the way in this: USAID and DGIS, as well as their partners.

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