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TitleNew focus, revitalised efforts: water and sanitation are fundamental human rights, not a charity for the poor : annual report 2012 IRC Internationa...
Publication TypeAnnual Report
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsAtwater, S
Pagination31 p.; ill. tab.; fig.
Date Published2013-06-01
PublisherIRC
Place PublishedThe Hague, The Netherlands
Keywordsinternational organizations, non-profit organizations, policies, water, sanitation and hygiene [WASH]
Abstract

For decades, progress in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector has been measured primarily in terms of new infrastructure—pumps, pipes, taps and toilets. Sustainability of water and sanitation, if addressed at all, meant the sustainability of this infrastructure, rather than of the services it was intended to provide. This focus has led to poor services, broken facilities and wasted investment. Water and sanitation must be viewed as a service, access to which are basic human rights. Infrastructure is a critical component but only one part; the pumps and pipes, taps and toilets need to be managed and maintained over time and
eventually replaced—a far more complex and challenging task than their initial construction. True sustainability means continuity of service. IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) believes that the WASH sector—a large network of individuals, organisations and institutions—must change the way it perceives its mandate, from emphasising capital investment and installation of new infrastructure to addressing the real challenge: how the hardware is maintained, managed and governed to deliver services. [authors abstract]

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Citation Key74017

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