Toward a universal measure of what works on rural water supply : rural water metrics global framework

One of the most pervasive development issues related to the provision of rural water supply and sanitation services (RWSS) is their lack of sustainability. Assessing and measuring sustainability is a difficult task for which there is no consensus on which indicators to use. Unlike in the urban water supply and sanitation where universally recognised indicators exist, the rural water supply and sanitation sub-sector still lacks a universal metrics global framework. This is because the rural water sector has a wide variety of service levels (water points and piped systems) as well as type of service providers (communities, governments and private sector). The adoption of such a universal framework by adapting country monitoring systems will facilitate improved national and global reporting and analysis. This publication summarises the methodology and conclusions of a study aimed at proposing a Rural Water Metrics Framework that was based on the findings of analysing 40 RWSS frameworks. The proposed Global Framework contains minimum, basic, and advanced indicators to be tailored according to each country context. The study finalises presenting a total of 24 indicators as being key to monitoring RWSS and proposes further validation and dissemination with regional and global partners in the short term, as well as engagement with regional platforms working on water issues for their framework adoption in the long-term to support data sharing and analysis. [author abstract]