Crisis of management and political will
The impending water and sanitation crisis in the developing world is a crisis of governance and political will. Many governments are failing to address the needs of its poor and marginalised inhabitants who often pay a higher price than the rest of society for water and sanitation services. Unless there is a shift to involve people at the centre of water management, this precious resource will cause conflicts among communities and between countries and will widen the gap between the rich and poor.
Partnerships
Stronger public accountability, better regulations and legislation and more effective monitoring of water and sanitation services are all needed to improve governance and service delivery, especially to the poorest of the poor. The WASH campaign promotes partnerships between the public and private sectors to provide more equitable and affordable services. It aims for priority to be given to the poor, particularly women and children who suffer the heaviest burden of poverty and sickness.
WASH aims to raise the commitment of political and social leaders to achieve these goals and the necessary behavioural changes. This will involve using traditional and mass media, focusing on hygiene promotion in schools, training and building the local capacity for communications and improving networking and research.
Campaign approaches
The Collaborative Council Secretariat will provide strategies and guidance to test and adapt a "communication for development" methodology for the campaign, with the help of its Regional and National Co-ordinators, partner organisations and allies in different parts of the world. This methodology has been successfully used by UN organisations and donor agencies such as UNICEF, WHO and USAID in implementing health, water and environmental sanitation programmes in the developing world.
This social mobilisation and advocacy strategy calls for a range of partnerships to be developed among stakeholders, from policy-makers, practitioners and community, religious and business leaders, to schools and sector professionals, and individual households and families. The media features significantly in this strategy to bind all segments of society to support the necessary changes in policy, behaviour and practice.
These campaign approaches will include:
- Mobilising communities and promoting people-centred approaches;
- Building partnerships across sectors and disciplines;
- Collecting science-based information and sharing experiences;
- Finding ways to allow the voices of ordinary people to be heard;
- Working with an informed and responsible media.
Management of the campaign
The WSSCC Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, provides the overall management and co-ordination of the global WASH campaign. Regional and national co-ordinators in different parts of the world play pivotal roles in defining strategies relevant to their own environments and to implementing activities on the ground with the help of partner organisations and various segments of civil society. A generic set of advocacy materials is being developed by the Council and will be made available on its website. Council members, numbering over 1,100 professionals in more than 140 countries, all act as 'goodwill ambassadors' for WASH. These professionals include, among others, water, sanitation and hygiene practitioners, information specialists, sociologists and community leaders, representatives of government and non-governmental organisations, United Nations agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, regional banks, private sector, academic and training institutions, professional and community associations.
