NEWS in brief
schools,” Wijesekera said.
“Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene is vital to the
future of our world and these young people know it,” he
added. “Without those basic rights, diseases devastate them,
leaving them ill and wasted, cutting into their time in school,
lessening their chance at a good education – and indeed
their very chance of survival. We must do better for them.”
The children hailed from host country Tajikistan, as well as
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Romania,
South Korea, the Philippines, Ukraine, USA and Zambia.
Prior to the Conference, they took part in a Children’s
WASH Forum organized by UNICEF and the Government
of Tajikistan.
The Children’s WASH Forum, from 6-8 June, provided
opportunities for the young participants to improve their
advocacy skills in the matter of children’s access to water,
sanitation and hygiene. The Forum aimed to help children
contribute to the global discussions on the issue, and advance
the goal of giving WASH access to all children, everywhere
– at home, in communities, at school, and during disasters –
and so achieve the planned Sustainable Development Goals.
SWA adopts its new strategy: country processes
and effective behaviours at the heart of it!
By Erma Uytewaal, IRC Associate
The Sanitation and Water for All Steering Committee
gathered in Geneva on 17 and 18 June to take important
decisions on the future direction of the partnership. A new
partnership strategy was adopted which is geared towards
guiding the actions of the partners in pursuit of a shared
vision of universal access to water and sanitation and
hygiene with a five-year horizon.
The new Sanitation and Water for All strategy is the
result of an ample consultation and dialogue process
The foundations for a renewal of the Sanitation and Water
for All (SWA) strategy were laid in a decision to conduct
a progress review of the SWA Partnership during 2014
and subsequent discussions between SWA partners on the
margins of the 2014 Stockholm World Water Week.
The Task Team produced a draft strategy which was
further refined in consultation with the Country Processes
Task Team (CPTT) to put country processes and effective
behaviours of all SWA partners at the heart of SWA’s future
strategy.
The role of the country processes task team
The inputs for the CPTT consisted of its members’
experiences in (supporting) country processes and on
the findings of extensive research carried out by some
of its members (WaterAid, WSP, IRC and UNICEF) on
experiences with aid effectiveness. The studies considered
Global Highlights
more than ten countries including Niger, Liberia, Ghana,
Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Timor-Leste and Honduras. Based
on this work, a number of key behaviours were formulated
with the aim of ensuring all partners work together
effectively to achieve agreed sector targets.
What is new in the SWA Strategy?
The Strategy — inspired by a shared vision of “sanitation,
water and hygiene for all, always and everywhere” —
establishes a framework for structured progress towards the
implementation of the Theory of Change. This includes a
definition of the partnerships’ role and purpose, and the
goals and strategic objectives the partnership will pursue in
achieving the common vision.
A central element in the Theory of Change and Strategy
is the agreement on the effective behaviours for all SWA
partners. The Strategy acknowledges