Water Services That Last
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Examples

Here are a few examples of successful advocacy ranging from longer running programmes using the mix of advocacy, social mobilisation and programme communication to quick, single issue-based campaigns

Guinea worm eradication campaign

  • The successful international guinea worm eradication campaign shows the impact of effective advocacy action. It also shows that it takes a long time and may need to be repeated. The campaign started in 1989 with nationwide searches for cases, and by highlighting the socio-economic impact of infestation. Internationally, the campaign was boosted by former President Jimmy Carter, who was able to open doors at top level. WHO and UNCEF put their weight behind it. Nationally, it was characterised by personal communication from national leaders. The impact of communication at local, national and global level came together for maximum effect.
    The number of people infected by guinea worm worldwide has fallen by 98% since 1989, but war and lack of financial backing in countries still plagued with this debilitating disease are allowing the number of cases to increase again. The World Health Organization and influential campaigners were in March 2002 calling for a final effort to eliminate the disease in countries where cases have fallen to low levels, and for new approaches to create the space to rescue communities still living with the guinea worm in conflict zones.
    These challenges were addressed at a meeting in Khartoum, Sudan, in March 2002 involving former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, two other former heads of state, eight ministers of health and public health leaders from all countries where guinea worm exists.

Philippines barangay

  • The Dona Flávia Experience in the Philippines is an excellent example of how since 1999 in the most populated barangay of the municipality of San Luis in Agusan del Sur, in the Philippines, advocacy helped to create an enabling environment for community management of water and sanitation systems. The Philippine Centre for Water and Sanitation/International Training Network Foundation, Manila, supported this process. In October 2001 the local government was replicating the approach in other barangays.

Clean up Hudson river

  • Clean up of Hudson river - USA. Called to action by the US based Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) (a grassroots campaign to restore the Hudson River), over 12,000 of CCE's Hudson Valley members and supporters agreed with the proposed cleanup plan and signed petitions and submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a result of this backing by civil society and the support generated by other pro-cleanup advocates, the EPA announced in August 2001 plans to force General Electric to clean up its mess.

Water matters

  • WaterAid's first campaign Water Matters culminated at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002. Leading up to the WSSD the UK NGOs WaterAid and Tearfund had an online petition as part of their advocacy work influencing the UK government. The petition was signed by 121,770 members of the public in the UK.

WaterAid case studies

There are more case studies in WaterAid's advocacy guide Advocacy, What is it all about?, These include:

  • Contributing to the National Rural Water Strategy: Uganda
    The final strategy document contains two advocacy objectives: promoting the role of the NGOs in the provision of water and sanitation services in rural areas, and how community management might be implemented. WaterAid was the only NGO member of the Technical Committee.
  • Contributing to the National Water and Sanitation Strategy: Zambia
    WaterAid's contribution to the final strategy was to emphasise the need to understand why a commitment to community contributions was necessary for water provision.
  • The Mole Conference Series, Ghana
    WaterAid and ProNet have since 1997 organised the annual national conference for the water and sanitation sector held in Mole, central Ghana. The conference, together with other advocacy initiatives, has been instrumental in changing government policies towards hand-dug wells in Ghana, which are now recognised and accepted. Other issues, such as the role of women in water management, challenges of community water, and issues of sustainable sanitation were debated. Collaboration and co-ordination has increased as a result of the Conference series.
  • More flexible government subsidies for sanitation, India
    WaterAid targeted two leading government programmes as a result of a successful, more flexible approach to sanitation promotion in Tamil Nadu, India, that since the mid 1990s has included varying levels of subsidy and loans for latrine construction. This achieved some key advocacy objectives including a restructured Total Rural Sanitation Programme that accepted reduced and differential subsidy levels and different models of latrines, so that more subsidy is now targeted to those in need.

Factors for succes

Key factors in the success of this advocacy initiative have been assessed as:

  • demonstrating successful initiatives in the field;
  • providing cheaper, alternative models which still meet the required standards;
  • the strength of the NGO network in providing support and a unified voice when dealing with government;
  • the reputation of the NGOs in the network.