Goal:

Increase community access to potable water and improve sanitation.

Life of Program:

2011 – 2017

Total USAID Funding:

U.S. $24 million

Geographic Focus:

Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger

Implementing Partners:

Florida International University (FIU), lead implementing partner, with:
• Winrock International
• CARE
• International Water Association
• Rainwater Harvesting Implementation Network
• UNESCO-IHE
• International Water and Sanitation Centre
• SKAT Foundation
• Building Partnership for Development
• African Water Association
• PROMACO

Background:

It is widely recognized that inadequate access to water and sanitation services has enormous health, economic and social consequences. Poor water quality continues to pose a major threat to human health. Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old, and is responsible for killing around 760,000 children every year (WHO, 2013). A significant proportion of diarrheal disease can be prevented through safe drinking-water and adequate sanitation and hygiene. In communities that lack safe drinking water, women and girls spend several hours each day collecting water from distant sources, and this reduces opportunities to attend school.

Program Description:

WA-WASH introduces innovative and low-cost water and sanitation technologies, and promotes appropriate hygienic behaviors at the community level. The program also develops practical models of sustainable WASH service delivery; and increases the capacity of national and regional institutions to replicate these approaches and models throughout the region. WA-WASH is partnering with the African Water Association to serve as a Knowledge dissemination platform.

Program Objectives:

• Support catalytic approaches to accelerate regional access to improved water supply/sanitation services and improved hygiene behaviors.
• Develop and implement improved models for sustainability of rural and peri-urban WASH service delivery that are replicable throughout West Africa.
• Build synergies among WASH actions and critical USAID/West Africa regional priorities related to food security, climate change, and sustainable resource management.
• Strengthen the regional enabling environment and capacity for WASH to achieve WASH Millennium Development Goals in West Africa.