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Key Text Improving the Provision of Basic Services for the Poor in Fragile Environments: Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene International Literature Review

Author: Katharina Welle
Date: 2008
Size: 33 pages (584KB)

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Summary

How can donors and partner governments best support the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene in fragile environments? This literature review is one of three sectoral reports from the Overseas Development Institute on service delivery in fragile states. It confirms that water supply service delivery in fragile states remains limited. Documentation on sanitation and hygiene issues in these environments is virtually non-existent. The water sector is a good entry point for state-building, but approaches depend on the type and context of state fragility.

Water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are a priority for citizens, particularly in water-scarce environments. The term ‘fragile states’ refers to a wide range of operating contexts. Protracted armed conflicts, for example, can render states incapable of basic functions and water supply is often the first to go. WASH provision can play an important role in state-building and increasing state legitimacy. Donors looking to support WASH provision have to balance immediate needs with long-term capacity building. There are also choices between engaging with the public sector and non-state providers (NSPs) and between supporting central or local government.

There is no single strategy for WASH delivery in fragile states. Findings include the following:

A trend towards decentralisation in the water sector has seen a shift away from top-down supply-led approaches towards Demand-Responsive Approaches. These are designed to increase transparency, accountability and efficiency, but still encounter problems reaching the most vulnerable.
Donor approaches may be short-term (humanitarian) or medium to long-term (statebuilding). In practice, parallel forms of support mean it is rarely a question of one or the other, or of a straight transition. Statebuilding varies depending on capacity and political will.
The water sector is characterised by fewer global actors than other basic services sectors, in particular health, but there are coordination issues. Multilateral development banks feature prominently, but their role in post-conflict situations respective UN engagement remains unresolved. There is no single water agency responsible for coordination within the UN.
Budget support and pooled funding mechanisms (e.g. multi-donor trust funds) relate to the ‘long route’ of accountability. Social funds and microfinance encourage more direct links between clients and service providers.

Donor support for WASH services in fragile environments involves challenging choices and trade-offs. Donor approaches depend on the type and context of state fragility and on the availability of natural resources. Sanitation and hygiene behaviour change require different approaches from water supply, a fact that is generally acknowledged but neglected in fragile state contexts. Further implications include the following:

The water sector is a good entry point for state-building activities, since WASH delivery is non-ideological and water is generally in high demand.
Approaches that go beyond the typical 12-month funding window for emergency responses are needed to effectively manage transitions and support state-building. Project cycles of 24 months allow for building trust with government while giving more time to support user voices.
With the state shifting towards a more supervisory and regulatory role, NSPs play an increasingly important role in WASH service provision. Strengthening small-scale NSPs may be crucial to expanding and sustaining WASH provision in fragile states.
Issues surrounding support to decentralised WASH services are highly context-specific. In some fragile states, local government remains strong. In others, relations between central and local government may lie at the heart of fragility.

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Source: Welle, K., 2008, 'Improving the Provision of Basic Services for the Poor in Fragile Environments: Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene International Literature Review', Report prepared for the AusAID Office of Development Effectiveness by the Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute, London
Author: Katharina Welle , k.welle[at]sussex.ac.uk
Organisation: Overseas Development Institute (ODI), http://www.odi.org.uk/