Sanitation and Water for All

Sanitation and Water for All
Name	Sanitation and Water for All
Formation	2010
Type	Global partnership
Headquarters	Stockholm
Region served	Global
Membership	Governments, donors, civil society, multilateral banks

Sanitation and Water for All is a global partnership convening United Nations agencies, national ministries, bilateral Department for International Development, multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and civil society networks including WaterAid and Oxfam. The partnership promotes commitments and collective action toward universal SDG 6 targets, aligning political leadership in capitals like Kigali, Lima, and Jakarta with finance from donors including United States Agency for International Development and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.

Overview

The initiative operates as a convening and accountability platform linking leaders from Kenya Ministry of Health, Egypt Ministry of Water, and donors like the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to accelerate progress on sanitation and drinking water access. It interfaces with normative bodies such as the World Health Organization and technical agencies including the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Development Programme to translate global declarations—e.g., outcomes of the Rio+20 and the High-level Meeting on Water and Health—into national plans. Convenings have taken place alongside summits in cities like Stockholm and Washington, D.C. to foster collective commitments from finance ministries and parliaments.

Global Goals and Policy Frameworks

The partnership situates its agenda within frameworks established by the United Nations General Assembly and targets set by the 2030 Agenda, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 6. It cross-references indicators promulgated by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators and collaborates with regulators from jurisdictions such as European Union member states, national apex bodies like the National Planning Commission (Nepal), and technical standard-setters including the International Organization for Standardization. Policy dialogues have engaged ministers who participated in forums such as the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and regional processes convened by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Financing and Partnerships

Financing instruments promoted through the platform include blended finance involving the European Investment Bank, concessional loans from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and grant funding from bilateral donors like Japan International Cooperation Agency. The partnership cultivates relationships with development banks such as the Asian Development Bank and philanthropic actors exemplified by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to leverage capital for infrastructure in priority countries like Bangladesh and Ethiopia. It encourages domestic resource mobilization through engagement with finance ministries like the Ministry of Finance (India) and with parliamentary finance committees modeled on those in South Africa and Brazil.

Implementation and Service Delivery

Operational delivery models showcased include utility reform efforts in metropolitan utilities such as Lima Water Company and rural sanitation programs like community-led total sanitation piloted in districts of Nepal and Mozambique. Technical partnerships pull expertise from research institutions such as the World Agroforestry Centre and the International Water Management Institute, while capacity building employs curricula from universities including Imperial College London and Makerere University. Service delivery modalities feature public–private partnerships similar to arrangements seen in Manila and municipal management reforms as enacted in Kampala and Nairobi.

Monitoring, Data and Accountability

Monitoring relies on harmonized reporting aligned with UN-Water and indicator frameworks endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The partnership supports data platforms drawing on household survey programs like the Demographic and Health Surveys and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and works with national statistical offices such as the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Peru). Accountability mechanisms include ministerial performance compacts modeled after reforms in Rwanda and parliamentary oversight informed by civil society coalitions like the Transparency International chapters and watchdogs active in Guatemala.

Challenges and Barriers

Persistent barriers include financing gaps highlighted by analyses from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, institutional fragmentation observed in federal systems such as Nigeria, and capacity constraints in fragile contexts like Yemen and South Sudan. Technical challenges encompass groundwater contamination issues documented in regions like the Ganges Delta and salinization in coastal zones including Bangladesh's Khulna Division. Political economy obstacles reflect competing fiscal priorities in capitals such as Lima and regulatory bottlenecks noted in reform processes in Argentina.

Case Studies and Regional Initiatives

Selected country and regional initiatives linked to the partnership feature programs in Ethiopia that scaled rural sanitation, metropolitan water reforms in Lima, and community water projects in Philippines provinces. Regional collaborations include the African Ministers' Council on Water processes, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation dialogues on transboundary water, and basin initiatives like the Nile Basin Initiative and the Mekong River Commission. Donor-coordinated programs mirror approaches used by the Global Environment Facility and sector-wide approaches piloted in Tanzania.

Category:International development