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East Africa
1. Why did you choose to work in Rwanda?
2. What are your plans in Rwanda?
3. What is the current water and sanitation situation in Rwanda?
4. What impact do you think WaterAid could have in Rwanda?
5. Why did you choose to work in Kenya?6. What are WaterAid's plans in Kenya?
7. What is the current water and sanitation situation in Kenya?
8. What are the key challenges WaterAid faces in Kenya?
9. What impact do you think WaterAid could have in Kenya?
Rwanda
1. Why did you choose to work in Rwanda?
There is a high level of commitment to water, sanitation and hygiene by the Government of Rwanda, however water coverage is still low and sanitation is lagging behind with only 23% of the population having access.
WaterAid considers there is scope to develop an effective programme there as the government welcomes international cooperation by NGOs and bilateral and multilateral aid agencies.
2. What are your plans in Rwanda?
In 2008 our Board of Trustees approved WaterAid’s intervention in Rwanda. Work will begin in 2009. The first steps will be to register WaterAid in Rwanda and build our profile within the country.
Once funds are secured we will recruit a team leader who will set the strategic direction of the programme and an exit strategy.
In Rwanda all intervention is coordinated by the Government who ensure each organisation is contributing to the country plans. Our scoping study identified the following possible areas of intervention:
- Improving accessibility to water and sanitation services: WaterAid will develop the capacity of partner organisations to ensure that finance is reaching the poorest communities and delivering appropriate low cost and sustainable technology options at scale.
- Sector monitoring: water and sanitation statistics differ greatly and there is no national water point mapping or monitoring system. We will work with existing organisations to develop planning, monitoring and evaluation techniques so that we can target those communities most in need.
- Building the technical capacity of partner organisations.
3. What is the current water and sanitation situation in Rwanda?
According to the World Health Organisation and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP), there is 65% access to drinkable water and only 23% access to sanitation. By 2012, the Government is aiming to increase the proportion of the population accessing safe water from 64% to 86%, and the proportion with sanitation services from 38% to 65%.
4. What impact do you think WaterAid could have in Rwanda?
WaterAid can have an impact in Rwanda by ensuring low-cost, appropriate and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene technologies and approaches are promoted within the country to ensure the most vulnerable groups improve their hygiene practices and gain access to water and sanitation.
We hope to achieve this by working in partnership with local NGOs, stakeholders and relevant government officials.
Kenya
5. Why did you choose to work in Kenya?
In Kenya, progress in water and sanitation is badly off track, despite a growing economy. WaterAid conducted a scoping study in Kenya in 2008 and decided that, after ten years away from the country, there were compelling reasons to return. The study found that by establishing a presence in Kenya WaterAid could help to understand and tackle the water and sanitation situation. The study also recognised calls for WaterAid’s return from some of the stakeholders in Kenya, and an acknowledgement of the strategic role that Kenya plays in the region.
6. What are WaterAid’s plans in Kenya?
In the first instance, the plan is to re-establish WaterAid’s presence in Kenya by registering, recruiting competent staff and setting up a small office possibly hosted by partners. This will then lead to a two year pilot phase, with the development of a programme of work based on a deeper sector analysis and thorough exploration of potential partnerships in Kenya. After the initial two year phase, a review will be conducted and a country strategy developed.
7. What is the water and sanitation situation in Kenya?
Kenya has a strong and growing economy, but disparities in wealth and development persist and are actually worsening in the semi-arid north and in urban areas. Kenya is seriously off-track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals targets of reducing by half the proportion of people living without access to safe water and sanitation by 2015.
According to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) database the proportion of people in Kenya with access to water is 83% in urban areas and 46% in rural areas. For sanitation the percentage is 46% urban and 41% rural.
The MDG targets are 72.5% for safe water coverage (93.5% in urban areas; 65% in rural areas) and 70% basic sanitation coverage (74% urban; 68.5% rural).
8. What are the key challenges that WaterAid faces in Kenya?
• Lack of reliable data on access to water and sanitation services.
• Low functionality of water points across the country.
• Lack of capacity within the Government and other agencies to deliver water and sanitation services.
• Lack of capacity of local organisations to effectively engage in policy formulation and monitoring.
• The lack of water and sanitation services in unplanned urban areas is another major challenge as big cities and small towns continue to grow across Kenya.
9. What impact do you think WaterAid’s work can have in Kenya?
WaterAid plans to work with a wide range of partners to build capacity for service delivery, and demonstrate and support initiatives that enable equitable access to safe effective water, sanitation and hygiene. WaterAid hopes to use the learning and expertise from our other country programmes to help a network of local community organisations influence policy and practice in Kenya.
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