Financing the sector in challenging countries
Published on: 28/09/2018
Fixing the leaks to attract commercial investment for sustainable urban water services in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
When does money get results?
Published on: 27/08/2018
This blog looks at the experience of using 'Payment-by-Results' in Tanzania's water sector, and how adaptive programming is key to bridging the gap.
Sanitation and health: what do we want to know?
Published on: 01/08/2018
Experts meet to discuss reaching a consensus on what the evidence tells us.
Taps and toilets aren't enough: designing WASH programmes that strengthen the system
Published on: 02/07/2018
WaterAid has developed a set of participatory tools that help identify and overcome system barriers.
Abeba’s passion for change helps her sell sanitation solutions to communities
Published on: 16/06/2018
Half of the sales agents in the USAID Transform WASH project in Ethiopia are women.
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?
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.
Why innovations in the WASH sector rarely scale up?
Published on: 23/03/2018
Lessons for government, the private sector, NGOs and donors.
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.
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.
How to use Human Centered Design (HCD) to build prototypes for WASH
Published on: 23/02/2018
It's the final day of the design summit, and we're all a bit weary but energized to see the fruits of all this labor. When we started our 10-day journey with MIT, it felt to me like a long time to spend in a workshop. But as the summit progressed, I realized that we could easily spend a month...
One workshop to cover everything we ever complained about
Published on: 13/02/2018
Key lessons to develop a Country-Led Monitoring (CLM) programme for rural water and sanitation in Liberia.
Technological innovations are on exponential curves; but are WASH measurement methods stuck in time?
Published on: 07/02/2018
Innovations can revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development - if we rise responsibly to the challenge of measuring their impact.
Coming with a fresh perspective: understanding experiences of water security in Afar, Ethiopia.
Published on: 06/02/2018
My new role at Cranfield University this year is to drive forward a novel and very exciting project known as WEEP (Water-security in Ethiopia and the emotional response of pastoralists). WEEP has immense potential to 'break new ground' in understanding the everyday and ongoing challenges of water...
Moving from information gathering and idea generation to concept selection
Published on: 05/02/2018
Day 6 at the USAID Transform WASH Design Summit began like every day, with Morning Circle. This is a moment to set the mood, reflect, have a bit of fun, and make announcements about the day. The group is large with 35 participants plus Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Design Lab...
Let's design our own solutions! Not FOR the community but WITH the community
Published on: 02/02/2018
When we set out to transform the WASH sector in Ethiopia, I knew it would be a fascinating journey. But, our Transform WASH Design Summit, organized by PSI/Ethiopia and led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) D-Lab here in Hawassa, took us to an entirely new place.
Hit the road(map)
Published on: 25/01/2018
A new global guidance document on the District-Wide Approach.
Taking lessons from Mother Nature
Published on: 22/12/2017
"If you do not yield to anyone's advice, the world will teach you the lessons it wants you to learn," my mother always said. Often, this was a cautionary tale and it usually came after realizing that no matter what she said or did, you would not yield to her advice. Somehow, this is the same...
Why is water security key to WASH services delivery?
Published on: 18/12/2017
Meeting Sustainable Development Goal 6 requires solutions that focus on integrated rather than sectoral approaches.
Mara Paap..! Making Tanzanians excited about poo and toilets
Published on: 31/10/2017
We did this before, but the job is unfinished.
Blended finance for water infrastructure: hope or hype?
Published on: 17/10/2017
More catalytic innovation is needed to have a transformative impact.
Data analytics to redefine India’s water future
Published on: 25/09/2017
Big data analytics is a new window of opportunity for the Indian water sector.
The power of ‘’self-assembly’’: a critical tool in behaviour change for toilet use
Published on: 04/09/2017
We need to move beyond the easy option of coercion, humiliation and threats to stop open defecation.
Understanding what drives maintenance of rural water infrastructure in Tanzania (and it’s not what you think!)
Published on: 01/06/2017
A large proportion of Tanzanians still do not have access to improved water sources.
Rural water supply access in Tanzania: why has it stagnated?
Published on: 02/02/2017
Despite massive investments in rural water supply in Tanzania, the number of people with access to improved water sources has not increased. This begs the question, what could be the reason for this stagnation?