GOVERNANCE OF WATER AND SANITATION : AS APPLIED TO HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Providing people with access to essential services such as water and sanitation demands a combination of solutions in the face of a wide range of problems. NGOs today increasingly view the governance of water and sanitation as a fundamental condition for establishing lasting access to water, sanitation and hygiene for the people their projects are designed to benefit. Action contre la Faim is an important actor in the combat for access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in the developing countries where it works. Since 2006, ACF has been examining the issue of water governance and the right to water through a range of measures that include research, advocacy and communication.

Since 2013, Action contre la Faim has intensified its work on water and sanitation governance, running a number of studies on its missions (Kenya, South Sudan, Djibouti, Pakistan, etc) and continuing to contribute to the conversation about this issue at the international level.

Today, ACF is a member of a number of bodies engaged with governance, including the OECD Water Governance Initiative that has led to the development of the 12 Principles of Water Governance8 adopted by the 34 OECD member states in June 2015 and is working nowadays at Water Governance indicators and good practices, to operationalise the principles.

The Water Governance approach supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 6.

This manual was aimed initially at ACF’s operational missions as well as other NGOs in the sector in general, as well as water companies, decision-makers and funders. Its goal is to:

• Provide a practical tool for implementing WASH Governance as part of WASH projects and programmes, based on concrete examples from the field;
• Encourage other NGOs in the sector as well as water companies and partner institutions to incorporate and implement a governance element in their projects and programmes, based on the OECD principles;
• Encourage other technical sectors beyond the WASH sector.