Influencing poverty reduction strategies in Africa

Mary O'Connell, WaterAid's Policy Assistant, looks at how water and sanitation fit into the Poverty Reduction Strategy process.

A Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) is a tool through which governments in developing countries can access debt relief funds. The concept was launched by the World Bank in 1999, following agreements made by donor countries to reduce the debt owed by some developing countries.

A PRS sets out country-specific targets for reducing poverty, along with indicators that can be used to measure progress. Once a satisfactory PRS is in place and the World Bank are satisfied that the money will be used effectively, the World Bank releases the funds.

PRSs are country-driven and owned, based on broad participatory processes for their design, implementation and monitoring. This means that governments are designing poverty reduction strategies for their countries, consulting local government, civil society and communities.

At the very least, the PRS process opens development planning and budgeting to slightly wider scrutiny and influence. At most, if the principles of the process are adhered to, PRSs could provide unprecedented opportunities for civil society organisations to influence national policy-making and national development planning. Each country reviews its progress annually and revises the strategy every three years.

Currently 32 African countries are engaged in PRS processes, which are fast becoming an established framework for poverty reduction. In June a team from WaterAid, along with local networking organisations from Southern Africa, participated in a regional workshop on water and sanitation in PRSs in Nairobi, Kenya.

Senior staff from the water sector, central ministries from 12 African countries, NGOs, research organisations and development agencies came together to exchange experience and share good practices on ways to develop, implement and monitor water and sanitation strategies in the context of PRSs.

A review prepared by African countries suggests that the water and sanitation sector has not been adequately addressed in the PRS process. WaterAid and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), with the support of the Department for International Development (DFID), have undertaken a research and advocacy project in five southern African countries to find the reasons why not.

Poverty surveys and community consultations consistently identify access to safe water among the top three priority demands of the poor, but this has not been reflected in a meaningful way in the strategies. WaterAid is seeking to work with other poverty focused organisations to influence future PRSs to allocate increased funding to the water and sanitation sector.

It is the responsibility of agencies like WaterAid to join with other actors to assist in the formulation of development policies that will truly work towards the alleviation of poverty for the millions of people who do not have access to safe water and sanitation.