Focus on sector monitoring
In 2012 a working group on SIASAR (Sistema de Información de Agua y Saneamiento Rural - the sector information system for rural water supply and sanitation) has been established as sub-group of the broader working group on information systems that was already in place. IRC actively supports the working group.
SIASAR in Honduras
SIASAR (Sistema de Información de Agua y Saneamiento Rural) is a joint initiative launched by the governments of Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama with the objective to develop an information tool which provides up-to-date information on the status of the existing water supply and sanitation services in rural areas. In practice the roll out of SIASAR will entail that all water systems will need to be mapped and information needs to be collected on the status of the systems, the service delivered and the performance of the service provider. The aim of SIASAR is to better direct and plan post-construction support activities and investments.
El Salvador and Honduras and the work towards a national monitoring system
El Salvador and Honduras are making progress in the development of a national monitoring system for the provision of safe water and sanitation in rural areas. The objective of these monitoring systems is to know the status of services in order to improve and direct planning and investments in water and sanitation and to better direct technical assistance to rural service providers.
The development of the monitoring systems included among others the creation of defintion of indicator sets, scoring algorithms, and decisions on which technology platforms to use, as well as defining the institutional framework to make monitoring happen. In 2012, the IRC supported processes in both countries, as part of a consultancy for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
This article in Spanish presents the main lessons of progress in the two countries.
Apples and oranges: a comparative assessment in WASH
Read this interesting blog post by Stef Smits on the costs of water point mapping, in which reference is being made to his current activities to support the roll out of nation-wide monitoring efforts in El Salvador and Honduras. In both countries, there is an initiative to map all water systems (not water points as nearly all are piped schemes) and collect information on the status of these systems, the service delivered and the performance of the service provider, and establish a system for ongoing monitoring of these water systems, so as to better direct post-construction support. These activities are part of the assignment for IADB in which IRC supports the processes of developing monitoring systems in Honduras, Paraguay and El Salvador.
Methodology for documentation of SIASAR pilot projects in four municipalities in Honduras
This draft document contains the methodology for the documentation of the pilot of PIR (the rural infrastructure project) to implement and roll out SIASAR in the municipalities of La Labor, Lucerne and Sensenti in the department of Ocotepeque and Florida in the department of Copán. Key objective of the documentation exercise is to identify good practices and lessons learned which will guide the implementation of SIASAR on a larger scale.
Plan de Sistematización PIR SIASAR_borrador_updated.pdf (659.6 kB)
IRC supports the development of sustainability indicators in Latin America
IADB requested collaboration with IRC in the field of monitoring sustainability of rural WASH services. Specifically, IRC has been asked to support the development of a generic set of indicators for monitoring sustainability of rural WASH services and support in developing institutional arrangements for monitoring in three countries: El Salvador, Honduras and Paraguay.
