TITLE(PART 1): WORKING WITH GOVERNMENTS ON ROTARY WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE PROJECTS(PART 1): WORKING WITH GOVERNMENTS ON ROTARY WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE PROJECTS

World Water e-SummitRotary & Wasrag23 October 2014

Welcome to the webinar

Robert (Bob) Wubbena, PE

Immediate Past Vice Chair of WasragPast Club President of Rotary Club of Olympia, WA, USA

Thank you, World Water Summit sponsors

Agenda

• Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group

• Braimah Apambire• Ako Odotei• Ben Ampomah

• Q/A

Meet our panelists

Dr. Braimah Apambire

Senior Assistant to the President & Director of the Center for International Water and SustainabilityDesert Research Institute

Rotary Club of Reno, NV, USA

Ako Odotei

Engineer

Rotary Club of Tema, Ghana

Ben Ampomah

Executive SecretaryWater Resource Commission

of Ghana

Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group | WHO?• A group of technical experts who assist clubs

and districts with water, sanitation, and hygiene projects– Rainwater harvest, toilets and sanitation systems,

wells and boreholes, dams and aquifers, sand filters, entrepreneurship, building capacity and partnerships

• 1650+ members• Global: 92 countries, 320 Rotary districts• Membership is open to Rotarians, family

members of Rotarians, Rotary program participants and alumni

Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group | MISSION

• To support Rotary clubs worldwide with effectively planning, financing and undertaking sustainable (WASH) projects. – Work in communities with

greatest need– Simple, cost effective and

sustainable approach– Stress Rotary involvement – Promote effective partnerships

with the community, government and other non-government organizations

• Wasrag works as a water and sanitation consultant to Rotary clubs and districts

Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group | WHY?

• Unsafe water, lack of basic sanitation, and poor hygiene cause some 80% of all sickness and disease.

• Some 750 million people don’t have access to safe water.

• Approximately 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation.

• As many as 6000 children die every day of water related disease.

Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group

• Wasrag solutions Work! 3 Part Process– Team of experts Plan --- PPPTeams– Host In Country Team—Regional Teams– TRF/Wasrag Support System—Technical Guides

• Starts with the community – understand the needs• Supports a “Water Users’ Committee”• Engages local authorities, identifies WASH gaps in a region• Involves international partners and NGOs• Facilitates discussion on the need and appropriate solutions• Prepares a “needs assessment” and implementation strategy• Estimates 10-year costs; calculates the tariffs to sustain the

service• Seeks agreement and commitment from all parties• Monitor and evaluate; record lessons learned

LET’S HEAR FROM OUR PANELISTS

Role of Government in Rotary WASH Projects

• Familiarize yourself with:– Government guidelines, policies,

strategies, priorities– Roles/responsibilities of

government departments andministries for WASH

• Decentralization and role of local government

• Relationship between central government, local government and local communities on WASH

• Other organizations in WASH and their relationship with WASH• Local Rotarians working with government on WASH• Outside Rotarian’s government support of WASH to the

developing country

Project Assessment and Design

• Visit appropriate government ministries in the capital and discuss project– Find out if your proposed project

area/community is a priority area for government

– Determine sustainability mechanisms

• Visit local government offices and discuss project plans

• Involve local government staff (WASH, health and communities) in the needs assessment and project design

Implementation

• Apply government standards in implementing project

• Involve government staff as much as possible in the implementation

• Have government approve project implementation if this is required– Health ministry for hygiene

promotion– Example in Niger, government hydro geologist

approve borehole construction

Post Project Implementation

• Works with communities to develop long-term sustainability framework aligned with government policy

• Very important as this will ensure beneficial change and long-term positive impact of WASH services on the communities

Example

• Desert Research Institute working with IRC and the Ghana Government Community Water and Sanitation Agency– Creating easy-to-use databases with available hydrogeologic and

water quality data for districts, including maps– Building capacity of district assembly staff to use this data– Incorporating datasets into the District information Monitoring and

Evaluation System (DiMES)– Conducting applied research on water quality issues in the West

Mamprusi area of Northern Ghana– Conducting a landscape/Review of long-term sustainability issues

in Ghana– Researching applications of the Circuit Rider methodology in

Ghana– Pilot Circuit Rider Methodology in Ghana

Role of Government at National Level

• Government role: national water policy encourages government to work with stakeholders (such as Rotary members) and beneficiaries on water projects

• Guiding principles:– Fundamental right of all people to access safe

and adequate water to meet basic human needs– Improving equity and gender sensitivity– Ensure participatory decision-making at the

most community level

Working with Governments | Collaboration

• Promote Collaboration– Encourage partnership

between public and privatesectors to:

• Manage water resources• Deliver water supply and

sanitation services

• Coordinate and harmonize– Ghana’s government encourages sector-wide approach– Government encourages using a uniform

implementation approach across all projects and communities

Working with Governments | Requirements for Project Organizers

• Rotarians working with governments should be prepared to provide the following information:– Sponsoring club/districts’ role(s) in project

• Financier, supplier, investor, etc.• Intended level of operation (community, district,

regional, national)

– Sponsoring club/districts’ expertise• Sector/area of work (water management, urban

water supply, rural and small town, sanitation/hygiene, etc.)

Working with Governments | Suggestions

• Build a strong working relationship with government groups when first starting the project

• Don’t forget decentralized government affiliates which may be important stakeholders (agriculture, health, environment)

• Report progress and results to governmental partners

Working with Governments | Case Study

• Project: improving water governance in the White Volta Basic region of Ghana

• Project goals– Provision and access to water for domestic and

dry season farming– Link land and water conservation to

community’s livelihood needs– Incorporate gender perspective into project

plan– Promote cooperation by establishing multi-

stakeholder forums at all levels

Working with Governments | Case Study

• Government involvement– Hosted joint planning session between

participating non-government organizations, community members, and technical service institutions

– Sat on the project steering committee– Initially involved one non-government

group in project but later handed project ownership to local government institution for sustainability and oversight

Ako Odotei

Working effectively with local and national government officials

Project Summary

• Water Facilities– 74 boreholes with hand pumps and 4

mechanized water schemes were installed in seven districts.

• Sanitation Facilities– 54 latrines built in schools and 1 rural clinic– 3 shower/washbasin blocks provided in a

market/park near a border town and community clinic

• Total beneficiaries: 92,000 people

RI/USAID Water Collaboration

• Partnership to bring together resources to increase access to clean water and provide better sanitary conditions

• April 2007: signed Memorandum of Understanding

• 2009: Launch– 3 countries– US$6 million budget

Ghana’s Millennium Development Goal Targets

• Improved water supply 76% – (2008 World Health

Organization - 90%)

• Improved sanitation 65% – (2008 World Health

Organization – 10%)

Community Entry

• Hold meeting with district assemblies and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA)

• Hold meeting with community opinion leaders

• Hold community meeting to introduce project

• Support formation of district steering teams

Project Sustainability

• Elements that help ensure project sustainability:– Community Ownership (needs assessment)– Training (facility maintenance)– Funding (investment from the community)– Local technology and materials– Motivation for committee members– Community ownership (all households take

turns collecting user fees)– Monitoring and evaluation

Organization Structure

ROTARY

• Host Sponsor (16 clubs in Ghana)• International Sponsor D7630• Other clubs and districts

District Water and Sanitation

Teams

Community WATSAN

committee

Community Water and Sanitation

Agency

USAID

GWASH(Implementing

Partner)

Responsibilities• Host Committee: project administration

• Clubs: fundraise; community liaison and oversight

• Community: project oversight

• Rotary partnership: funding and oversight • CWSA: planning, implementation, monitoring and

evaluation

• District WASH team: Monitoring and evaluation

• WATSAN Committee: Needs assessment; facility management

• USAID: Provided hardware, helped change behavior

What’s next?

Phase II

WASH series

• World Water e-Summit 2: Working With Non-governmental Organizations– Wednesday, 29 October, 10:00-11:00 Chicago time

• World Water e-Summit 3: Working With the Private Sector – Wednesday, 5 November, 10:00-11:00 Chicago time

Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group

• Become a Wasrag member! Lack of WASH is an affront to humanity. Help the Rotary family help others.

• Join us to combat this global crisis. www.wasrag.org

Wasrag’s World Water Summit VII | São Paulo, Brazil

Wasrag’s World Water Summit VIIThursday 4 June 2015

São Paulo

Topic: WASH in Schools

Registration will open by the end of October : www.wasrag.org

Thank you!

Register for upcoming webinars and access recordings of past webinars at www.rotary.org/webinars