Evaluating Water Quality Assurance Funds In Ghana: Baseline Assessment
Summary
This report, developed by USAID/REAL-Water, summarizes baseline data collected before the launch of a two-year impact evaluation of the Water Quality Assurance Fund implementation model. This evaluation consists of a randomized stepped-wedge trial, which allows for rigorous impact measurements alongside a gradual intervention rollout. The evaluation involves 28 water systems in rural Ghana —21 that were randomly assigned to one of three groups successively entering the Assurance Fund program at six-month intervals; and seven that were non-randomly assigned to the first group. At baseline, we measured the same indicators that will be measured subsequently over the course of the stepped-wedge trial:
- Chlorine residual and E. coli in piped water (the primary outcome indicators for the trial);
- Water treatment practices;
- Water quality knowledge of water system operators and local government officials;
- Consumer awareness of and perceptions of water safety; and
- Consumer willingness-to-pay for increased water treatment and testing.