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TitleU.S. WASH advocacy : landscape report
Publication TypeMiscellaneous
Year of Publication2011
AuthorsFSG
Pagination17 p.; tab.; fig.
Date Published2011-03-01
PublisherFSG
Place PublishedS.l.
Keywordsaccess to sanitation, access to water, advocacy
Abstract

U.S. advocates for water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) have reason to be proud. The U.S.government contributed over $800 million to WASH related efforts in 2009. More than half of these funds were allocated by USAID, tripling the agency’s WASH expenditures from $160 million in 2003 to $482 million in 2009. At the same time, new funding challenges have emerged. The current financial and political climate casts doubt on the potential to increase or even maintain existing government appropriations. Much of the current funding is directed to regions of political priority rather than to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where the need is most severe. The ultimate use of funds depends on the unpredictable interactions among multiple decision makers in USAID, the Department of State, Congress, and the Administration. Non-financial challenges are equally troubling, including the lack of a strong evidence base about the effectiveness and sustainability of WASH programs and services to support advocacy efforts and to improve practice in the field. Many past WASH interventions have fallen far short their promise. Recent studies suggest that as many as one-third of the wells drilled in sub-Saharan Africa are now inoperable. [authors abstract]

Custom 1302, 202.90

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