Countries / Africa / Senegal

The Global WASH Forum in Dakar in 2004 received widespread recognition from the Senegalese authorities and also served as a kick-off for national level activities.

Senegal is one of the few countries with a Ministry dedicated solely to public hygiene and sanitation.

National WASH Coalition
The Senegal WASH coalition, established in 2008, consists of the National Office for Sanitation of Senegal (ONAS), government departments, civil society, development partners, the private sector, consumer associations and the academic world. In fact, the WASH campaign has been active in Senegal ever since the Global WASH Forum in 2004.

Focus
The coalition seeks to mobilize stakeholders for advocacy on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target for sanitation by 2015. Furthermore it is lobbying to make the sanitation sector a priority and to mobilize financial resources.

Milestones and achievements
In December 2004, several Senegalese ministries were instrumental in achieving a successful outcome to the first Global WASH Forum in Dakar. The Forum’s momentum resulted directly in a number of WASH projects and initiatives, and local representatives found the inspiration to undertake a number of initiatives working towards ensuring full sustainable access to water and sanitation services for all their people.

Senegal thereafter became the first country to establish a Ministry of Health and Prevention, Public Hygiene and Sanitation (in 2009 reorganized as the Ministry of Sanitation and Public Hygiene) to coordinate sector activities.

 The coalition’s activities in 2008 and 2009 included:

  • general WASH awareness raising and distribution of WASH information materials at various occasions, including the Salon International de l'Eau, World Water Day, and the Foire International de Dakar;
  • revitalizing a network of environment journalists to help them to cover good practices in WASH;
  • developing an action plan for the International Year of Sanitation and a road map according to the commitments made at AfricaSan 5, Africa’s conference on sanitation and hygiene, in Durban;
  • supporting a research project from the Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (SANDEC) on low cost options for faecal sludge disposal.
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