A mayor's drive to improve water and sanitation
Published on: 26/07/2023
"Strengthening the capacities of technicians is important to achieve the sustainability of the systems."
– Gabino Argueta, Mayor of Santa María
Since 2019, IRC Honduras and Water For People have worked together to support small municipalities in Honduras to supply water in rural areas. These municipalities are often too small to afford and provide technical services. To overcome this, we established partnerships with the mancomunidades (associations of municipalities) in three areas of La Paz, with funds from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Mayor of Santa María, Mr. Gabino Argueta, was one of the first mayors to take action. He approved the creation of a municipal technical unit for potable water and sanitation (UTMAS) and developed staff skills to provide technical assistance to rural providers and establish a monitoring system using the SIASAR tool*.
As a result, in 2022, the municipality has improved access to Class A water services from 13% to 47%, and sanitation and hygiene services from an 80% lack of services in 2019 to 73% of Class A services . This means sanitation services are functional, and include a handwashing station, safe water management and garbage collection.
Other municipalities such as Chinacla and Marcala, have now also assigned a water and sanitation technician.
We'll continue to support the municipalities with technical assistance, implementing a financial strategy, and strengthening the skills of urban service providers.
Read more about our work in Honduras
* SIASAR – the Rural Water and Sanitation Information System – was launched by the governments of Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and is a basic, updated, comparative information tool on rural water supply and sanitation services in a country.
