The Strengthening Watershed and Irrigation Management (SWIM) project supports sustainable, agriculture-led economic growth by increasing the sustainable and productive use of water and strengthening water resource management. Specifically, SWIM:

• Increases the sustainable and productive use of water for agriculture in targeted areas;
• Strengthens the water regulatory environment; and
• Strengthens local entities to manage water resources.

Last updated: July 2017

The provision of sustainable sanitation for all is one of the world’s most important development priorities, yet 4.5 billion people lack access to a safe toilet. Past efforts to provide greater sanitation access, such as direct government provision and full, blanket subsidies for toilets, have proven to be ineffective or unsustainable in many developing countries, prompting some to focus on market-based sanitation (MBS) as an alternative. However, market-based approaches have proven difficult to scale up.  

“The changes on the African continent are very much alarming—when we talk of sanitation and look at the growth of the populations in Africa, and also the urbanization phenomenon, with the growth of slums,” said Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), acknowledging the challenges facing the region in a recent interview with USAID’s Global Waters Radio.