Published on: 25/06/2020
Long-term partnerships with districts in focus countries are central to our work. We are committed to working with our district partners to ensure sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for all by 2030.
In 2019 we implemented two WASH master plans in Burkina Faso and Ghana. We also supported the development of four more: one in Uganda, and three in Ethiopia. These master plans are proof of the commitment of our district partners, particularly their local governments. Our role is that of a change hub. We bring people together, unite them around a common vision, and enable learning and adaptation – supporting government leadership throughout. This brings about change to strengthen local and national WASH systems.
The All systems go! WASH systems symposium in March gave us a chance to celebrate our 50th birthday, and to promote our WASH systems approaches. Another highlight was the development of the WASH Systems Academy: our online platform for building capacity in WASH systems strengthening.
In 2020 we will look at how to increase national-level political commitment; how to attract sufficient finance for our partner districts and the WASH sector in our focus countries; and how to scale and replicate our district-level successes. The answers to these questions will form the basis of our new five-year planning framework.
We had a turnover of close to € 12M in 2019, and received funding from 27 donors and 49 clients. We remain grateful, as always, for the continuous collaboration and support of those who share our mission.
At the time of writing, May 2020, the world is convulsed by COVID-19. Our offices are all locked down and our staff are supporting our partners in responding to it. Investments made in our communications infrastructure have enabled us to function effectively during lockdown. COVID-19 is highlighting the vital roles safe water and hygiene play in the fight against the pandemic. Access to safe water and sanitation in the household is not just a basic human right, but an enabler of social distancing. In fact, a health response is truly a WASH response. During and after the crisis, we will redouble our efforts to drive home this message to decision makers. WASH must be seen—and invested in—as a crucial foundation of a country's public health infrastructure, and the poor should not have to rely on unsafe WASH services.
Read our Annual Report 2019, our Monitoring Report 2019 and our Annual Accounts 2019 for more highlights and details of our work.
