The Water Governance Scorecard, a new resource from the Feed the Future Enabling Environment for Food Security project, seeks to deepen USAID water discussions vis-à-vis resilience by spotlighting water use within the agricultural sector.
A substantial increase in sector financing is needed for governments to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). Mobilizing finance to address the SDG 6.1 and 6.2 financing gap successfully and sustainably will require more than innovative or sophisticated financial vehicles and mechanisms. To move to scale, private and public investment hinges on core foundational issues being addressed in the water sector by service providers, governments, and other enabling environment stakeholders.
With increasing rates of population growth and urbanization, infrastructure in African cities, such as water delivery systems and wastewater systems, can be overwhelmed. Poor governance, chronic underinvestment and a lack of skilled staff make it difficult for urban water utilities to provide safe drinking water to consumers. However, experience suggests that strong leadership and institutions, coupled with preventative risk-based management approaches and sustained capacity-building efforts, are critical to improving the quality of drinking water services in African cities.
The primary goal of the USAID West Africa Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program (WA-WASH) was to increase sustainable access to safe water and sanitation and improve hygiene in West Africa.
This guide presents an introduction to conceptualising and strengthening the enabling environment for faecal sludge management (FSM) services in low-income urban areas.
It is based on WSUP’s experience working with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop market-based solutions for on-site sanitation services in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong (Bangladesh), Kisumu (Kenya) and Lusaka (Zambia).
At the mid-point of the project, IUWASH is now well advanced towards meeting its objectives. Its contributions are much appreciated by central government, not only for its support to the water and sanitation sectors in respect of its own statement of work, but also because of its leverage of other GOI and donor investments and technical assistance, particularly so in respect of the evolving sanitation sector.
It is widely recognized that inadequate access to water and sanitation services has enormous health, economic and social consequences. Poor water quality continues to pose a major threat to human health. Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old, and is responsible for killing around 760,000 children every year (WHO, 2013). A significant proportion of diarrheal disease can be prevented through safe drinking-water and adequate sanitation and hygiene.
