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2018 Rural dispersed areas Honduras

Blogs

IRC experts, guest bloggers, WASH sector colleagues share their ideas, observations and expertise through these informal blogs filtered by topic, projects and more.

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Capacity building by SNV

Woreda WASH Team’s renewed energy to increase demand for sanitation

Published on: 09/06/2018
Due to the absence of active and participatory platforms for coordination, WASH sector actors – woreda head, offices of women and children's affairs, health, education, water, agriculture and finance – have shown a reluctance to implement WASH activities together. Regrettably, this lack of...

Slab producing Association, East Badowacho, SNNP

Sanitation wheels roll out safer latrines

Published on: 06/06/2018
"People used to make fun of me saying, 'Do you really expect us to pay 350 birr for this toy you molded while we can get it for free?'" says Tesfaye Lemanche, Chair of Data Concrete Slab production Association.

Streefwaarde en cumulatieve resultaten

Grafiek van de week: een gespreid (water)bedje voor Minister Kaag, maar ook een tandje erbij

Published on: 06/06/2018
Minister Kaag komt in een gespreid bedje om aan de streefwaarden voor haar water en sanitatie doelstellingen te voldoen. Maar voor de lange termijn moet er een tandje bij, met name voor sanitatie.

Cost projection Marcala

Weekly WASH graph: and the magic number of reaching 'everyone, forever' is...

Published on: 28/05/2018
As countries, regions and municipalities are making plans to reach universal access to WASH services, a frequently heard question is how much does it actually cost to provide services to everyone in the area? This week's "weekly WASH graph" will provide some magic numbers of the costs of reaching '...

Collecting water from a natural stream in Northern Ghana

Household water treatment and storage in Savelugu-Nanton Municipality, Northern Ghana

Published on: 28/05/2018
Does using a household water filter help in improving water quality and reduce incidence of diarrhoea?

GDP vs access

Weekly WASH graph: beating the curve

Published on: 17/05/2018
This is the first of my 'weekly WASH graphs', exploring the relation between the wealth of a country over time, and its level of access to at least basic water services.

Dick de Jong

50 years of IRC: Interview with Dick de Jong

Published on: 16/05/2018
Out of IRC's 50 years of existence, retired Communications Director, Dick de Jong spent 30 years with the organisation. We asked him to reflect on memorable moments and share his views on IRC's future.

Women carrying water in Wamahinso, Asutifi North District, Ghana

Leaving no one behind is easy to say, but hard to do

Published on: 14/05/2018
Many current approaches won't work. We must build strong national and local systems dedicated to universality.

Menstrual Hygiene Day balloon: #NoMoreLimits - Good menstrual hygiene empowers women and girls to rise

Keeping the importance of menstrual hygiene alive!

Published on: 14/05/2018
We have come a long way, but educating schoolgirls and women remains essential.

World Water Forum 8 - Official Logo

Sharing water: looking back on the 8th World Water Forum

Published on: 11/05/2018
Watershed partners beat the drum for public finance, civil society and good water governance.

Participants at IRC WASH Debaite: Leaving no one behind

Leaving no one behind

Published on: 02/05/2018
How do we make sure that everyone has a basic level of service? Report of an IRC WASH Debate.

Photo: Simone Klawitter

Rural utilities for water supply in Ethiopia

Published on: 19/04/2018
A new guideline seeks to professionalise the management of multi-village water supplies in Ethiopia

Gloria Badu collects payments at a private tap-stand in Wamahinso, Asutifi North

Collective action for WASH systems and services

Published on: 18/04/2018
Partners launch a district-led programme in Ghana built on the vision of universal access.

Adopt an SDG

Which government does NOT want to achieve sustainable and universal access to WASH? But do they want to be part of the messy and complex process?

Published on: 17/04/2018
Achieving political commitment to the sustainable delivery of WASH services is generally not the problem. It is making governments realise that this is much more than providing a water pump. Do you want to hold your government accountable? Have them 'Adopt an SDG'!

"Costeo de los servicios de agua y saneamiento" Workshop

Moving “en derechura” with the costing of water and sanitation services in Honduras

Published on: 16/04/2018
"You are doing well—keep on going 'en derechura'", said a community member of about 70 years old, when we wanted to confirm if we were on the right track with the municipality of Candelaria. I had never heard of the expression "en derechura" before, but it quite accurately expresses what is...

Ebenezer Kwarteng, Ghana, speaking at Kintampo South District Learning Alliance meeting

The capacity to deliver water services

Published on: 11/04/2018
New book tells how partnerships, district planning and learning alliances achieve impact at community level in Ghana.

Celebrating1000 ODF communities in Benin

Starting rural sanitation in Benin with CLTS: how it became a game-changer

Published on: 11/04/2018
Dutch-funded programmes collectively develop capacity to free one million people from open defecation.

Taller "Costeo de los servicios de agua y saneamiento"

“En derechura” al costeo de los servicios de agua y saneamiento

Published on: 03/04/2018
"Van bien, sigan en derechura" nos dijo un comunitario de unos 70 años, cuando queríamos confirmar que íbamos por el camino correcto hacia el municipio de Candelaria. La expresión "en derechura" nunca antes la había escuchado, sin embargo, expresa muy bien lo que está sucediendo con el costeo de...

Collecting baseline data with mobile phones in Ethiopia

Why innovations in the WASH sector rarely scale up?

Published on: 23/03/2018
Lessons for government, the private sector, NGOs and donors.

Doing household surveys

You cannot manage what you do not measure; but should you measure what you cannot manage?

Published on: 22/03/2018
Many countries are developing or reviewing their water sector monitoring systems to see whether they are SDG-proof. A recurring question in this is the extent to which these should use household-level data of JMP-defined access to limited, basic or safely managed water. We argue that caution should...

Photo: John Butterworth

Sitting on a gold mine

Published on: 22/03/2018
A team representing government and NGOs from Ethiopia joined a visit to Ghana to learn about planning for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for WASH.

"Sanitation is more important than independence" - Gandhiji

Can India afford to spend less on rural sanitation?

Published on: 21/03/2018
Budget cuts could prevent the country becoming open defecation free by 2019.

Finote Selam utility team

Safe Water 2 Programme Is ‘A Space for Innovation’

Published on: 15/03/2018
The Safe Water 2 Programme is "a place for innovation," says Hester Foppen of Aqua for All . As a partner in the ' Safe Water Phase 2' Programme , IRC spoke to her about business viability and innovation at a stakeholder workshop in Nepal in the fall of 2017.

Water pump

Giving data a soul: a case study on use of water point data in Uganda

Published on: 08/03/2018
Behind all water, sanitation and hygiene data is a story. Very, often these stories are hidden behind cold statistics that enable us to count and tick boxes.

Pride and Shame: Children's painting on menstrual hygiene

Is Bollywood’s Pad Man movie too good to be true?

Published on: 07/03/2018
Checking the facts and assumptions about menstrual hygiene in developing countries.

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