Stef Smits is a senior programme officer and Co-director of IRC's Growth Hub. He has 20 years of professional experience in water supply and sanitation in over 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, Southern Africa, and South Asia. His main thematic expertise includes: institutional models for water supply, sustainability and enabling environment, monitoring, costing and financing of services and integrated water resources management.
Stef has led numerous projects on these topics, and published about them. In addition, he has ample management expertise: from consultancy assignments to multi-annual programmes, and units within an organisation. He has worked for a range of clients including bilateral donors, development banks, research funders and NGOs. Stef holds an MSc degree in Irrigation and Water Engineering from Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Increasing repair and maintenance funds leads to higher borehole functionality and water access rates in the drought-prone regions of Turkana, Kenya... Read more...
An assessment of public development banks (PDBs)' involvement in the water sector in Latin America Read more...
Research found a strong relationship between variation in seasonal water access and reported emotional response. Water security improvement could be... Read more...
A novel Empowerment in WASH Index is presented, which was piloted in Banfora, Burkina Faso. Findings show importance of household- and community-... Read more...
This article demonstrates the effectiveness of facilitation of a learning alliance by a non-governmental organization providing funding and expert... Read more...
Successful pathways secured uptake by government and had flexible programming. Read more...
National public development banks are underused and that they have the potential to raise finance for achieving both the SDG 6 and the water-related... Read more...
More emphasis is needed on building and strengthening the work of multi-stakeholder platforms in WASH at the national level. Read more...
Key elements, success factors, partnership processes, conducive national contexts and types of global partnerships, which can support an effective... Read more...
Inspirational stories about how ordinary women in India and Kenya have converted the challenges posed by COVID-19 into an opportunity to promote good... Read more...
Keynote for World Health Organization presented at the Twelfth meeting of the Working Group on Water and Health | UNECE. Read more...
Conceptual frameworks and guiding questions that help identify opportunities to strengthen links between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and... Read more...
The two utility models present in Kabarole outperformed the community management model, with the existing national utility demonstrating greater... Read more...
Self-supply's contribution to urban and rural water provision world-wide, and the gains of government support. Read more...
For inclusion/diversity experts from different actors involved in realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular civil society For... Read more...
A guide for implementing WASH in schools initiatives, based on a compilation of best practices in WASH from 15 prize winning schools in Odisha state... Read more...
A short review of the existing landscape of international financial flows to the water sector, with specific focus on climate finance. Read more...
Despite the high level of exposure to the COVID-19 virus among HCWs in the treatment centers, only 14.0% were at high risk of COVID-19 virus... Read more...
Despite reduced funding for market systems development (MSD) in sanitation, Water For People (WFP) has been able to grow and expand its approach. Read more...