Former Senior programme officer | Change hub
René is senior program manager and a WASH generalist with experience as manager of large programmes and in the role of advisor for the water sector. René is by education a sanitary engineer and has 32 years of experience related to development cooperation in water supply, sanitation, and water resource management in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. His expertise ranges from developing urban infrastructure to participatory appraisals with community members; from action research of rural water supply service delivery models to piloting biological wastewater treatment plants. In the period prior to his retirement in 2023 René's time was divided between developing IRC's WASH System strengthening approach further, supporting IRC (country) teams and evaluating water sector programmes for external clients.
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...
Presentations from the WASH Learning theme 1 - Delivering Safe WASH Services session of the All Systems Connect International Symposium 2023. Read more...
WASH interventions can help reduce carbon emissions, especially by limiting methane gas emissions from sanitation. Systematic assessment of... Read more...
There is decades of evidence of the disproportionate impact of WASH on women and girls, but relatively few women at the decision-making table. Learn... Read more...
The SMART market-based approach is contributing to SDG 6 and beyond. Its impact is significant, but localised. Read more...
Tactics and approaches for evidence-based advocacy. Lessons learned from 13 case studies in six countries. Read more...
This is the end-of-project evaluation of Watershed - empowering citizens conducted by PopDev Consultancy on request of the Directorate-General for... Read more...
Higher payments for rural water services in Kwale, Kenya, are associated with higher education and faster repair times. Household wealth, sex of... Read more...
Podcast featuring Virginia Roaf, Neville Okwaro and Radha Paudel, who discuss how to tackle the taboo surrounding menstrual hygiene at the global... Read more...
Human development and human rights' approaches can benefit each other mutually to improve international and local monitoring systems for water,... Read more...
Sharing a sanitation facility with just one to two other households can increase the risk of moderate-to-severe diarrhea (MSD) in young children,... Read more...
In the context of the devolution of political powers and responsibilities to the counties in Kenya, planning for water and sanitation services has to step up. Read more...
Using numbers in local planning for water resources and services helps stakeholders to make (conflicting) interests clearer and choices more explicit. Read more...
This year the rains started in March and in June the water ponds still have water in them. Mwende is happy because now she only has to walk ten minutes to fetch water for her family. Read more...