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Steps to sustainability: a road map for WASH.

Abstract

This paper presents a strategy for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 6.1 and 6.2 (universal access to clean water and to adequate sanitation and hygiene) in the context of rural Uganda. With participation of the Ministry of Water and Environment, a group of local government representatives have consulted in a series of workshops and meetings over the past five years. This ‘Learning Alliance’ has been hosted by a Ugandan social enterprise, Whave Solutions. The alliance undertook a systems analysis that identified key barriers to effective WASH delivery, such as financial disincentive for preventive maintenance. A regulatory structure and service delivery public–private partnership (PPP) approach was developed and implemented through practical maintenance contracts in more than 200 communities. The PPP key elements were performance payment for preventive maintenance, reliability assurance contracts between a service utility and rural communities, proposed new by-laws, standard constitutions, banking and legal status for the management committees of communities, and institutionalized monitoring. The paper describes how staged implementation of these elements has potential to transform the prospects for financial viability of reliable and universal water access in line with SDG 6.1, and how this process improves investment in piped supply as a key method of improving sanitation access and hygiene, in line with SDG 6.2.

More information

Type
Journal Article
Author
Harvey A