Senegal’s Ministry for Sanitation and Public Hygiene has made improved access to sanitation sector a priority in its fight to reduce poverty. However, improved access is counted not only by the number of facilities built but also by how often they’re used and, in particular, if people wash their hands with soap at critical moments. Therefore, the Ministry and the Global Sanitation Fund will work together in order to reach the following objectives:

• Use of participatory techniques such as Community-Led Total Sanitation to end open defection and create demand for toilets;
• Improve sanitation services for communities that have received little or no national or international sanitation support;
• Raise awareness of good hygiene practices;
• Reduce diarrheal disease; and
• Increase schooling for girls.

Overall, the Global Sanitation Fund aims to improve the health, environment and welfare of people in rural and peri-urban areas, as well as small urban centres.

Read the press release in English or French or click here to learn more about the Global Sanitation Fund.

The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) provides grant support to scale up successful sanitation and hygiene approaches, targeting poor people in countries with the greatest sanitation and hygiene needs. The Executing Agency receives the Global Sanitation Fund grant monies from WSSCC and manages the funded programme of work in country. It selects and enters into agreement with Sub-Grantees who directly implement programme activities on the ground. The Country Programme Monitor verifies programme implementation and reports to WSSCC.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) hosts WSSCC’s Secretariat. Therefore, the procurement process and contractual conditions will be in accordance with UNOPS rules and procedures.

To read more about the modalities of submission of an Expression of Interest to be the Global Sanitation Fund's Country Programme Monitor in Cambodia please visit:

http://www.unops.org/ApplyBO/File.aspx/1.CPM_CFP_WEBFORMAT_Cambodia%2025%20June.pdf?AttachmentID=a21f9a3c-f742-409f-81e2-f4755c27f582

To read more about the modalities of submission of an Expression of Interest to be the Global Sanitation Fund's Executing Agency in Cambodia please visit:

http://www.unops.org/ApplyBO/File.aspx/EA_EOI_WEBFORMAT%20Cambodia.doc?AttachmentID=20911302-7c87-4aa2-b19b-c3b452da380c

The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) provides grant support to scale up successful sanitation and hygiene approaches, targeting poor people in countries with the greatest sanitation and hygiene needs. The Executing Agency receives the Global Sanitation Fund grant monies from WSSCC and manages the funded programme of work in country. It selects and enters into agreement with Sub-Grantees who directly implement programme activities on the ground. The Country Programme Monitor verifies programme implementation and reports to WSSCC.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) hosts WSSCC’s Secretariat. Therefore, the procurement process and contractual conditions will be in accordance with UNOPS rules and procedures.

NIGERIA (Submittal Deadline, 28 June 2010)
Click below to access the full details of the Call for Expression of Interest to be the Executing Agency in Nigeria:

http://www.unops.org/ApplyBO/File.aspx/UNOPS_Call%20for%20EOI%20for%20EA_Nigeria%20for%20website_1June10%20(2).doc?AttachmentID=7fab5691-9ebd-4472-9c65-bfe1e228e379

Click below to access the full details of the Call for Expression of Interest to be the Country Programme Monitor in Nigeria:

http://www.unops.org/ApplyBO/File.aspx/UNOPS_Call%20for%20EOI%20for%20CPM_Nigeria%20for%20website_1June10.doc?AttachmentID=4c8801ef-6046-4e70-b3e1-ad80df6c46ae

INDIA (Submittal Deadline, 7 July 2010)
Click below to access the full details of the Call for Expression of Interest to be the Executing Agency in India:

http://www.unops.org/ApplyBO/File.aspx/UNOPS_Call%20for%20EOI%20for%20EA%20in%20India%20GSF%20for%20website%20-%201June10.doc?AttachmentID=54ceaa6d-8bca-4ae4-b980-a69d9eaab2e3

Click below to access the full details of the Call for Expression of Interest to be the Country Programme Monitor in India:

http://www.unops.org/ApplyBO/File.aspx/UNOPS_Call%20for%20EOI%20for%20CPM%20in%20India%20GSF%20for%20website%20-%201June10.doc?AttachmentID=9702b72c-bf1f-4f6c-8fe3-a829f4d33329

For more general information about the Global Sanitation Fund at WSSCC, click here:

http://www.wsscc.org/en/what-we-do/global-sanitation-fund/index.htm

"The World Health Organisation said that since 1990 1.3 billion people had gained improved drinking water and 500 million better sanitation," you report; whereas Professor Asit Biswas, president of the Third World Centre for Water Management, "said official figures showing that many cities and countries had met their targets were 'baloney'". However, I believe the bigger picture is that "even if the MDG goals were reached in full, billions of people would still live with very poor water and sanitation".

Solving the problem is more important than arguing about numbers and definitions. The climate change debate has demonstrated how dangerously disputes about methodology can distract attention, public support and political will, from the big issue.

To read the whole article click on the link below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/06/water-sanitation-millenium-development-goals

News from the Secretariat

• GSF Gets the Green Light in Madagascar
• WSSCC to Hold Global Members Meeting in May 2011 in Mumbai, India
• WSSCC and Partners Meet to Discuss Advocacy Work
• New Resources Galore!

News from WSSCC Members & Partners

• The World's Longuest Toilet Queue: A Great Success!
• WASH Media Forum Training in Ethiopia
• Hurrah for Hygiene! Practitioners Attend Workshop in Bangladesh
• The Water Museum - A Socio-cultural Sanctuary for the Importance of Water

WSSCC in Motion, April to June 2010

Click on the respective language to download the newsletter in English, French or Spanish.

The findings from the UN-Water GLAAS report will be presented at the first annual High-Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All, hosted by UNICEF on 23 April 2010 in Washington, DC. The High Level Meeting will provide a forum for Ministers of Finance from developing countries, accompanied by Ministers responsible for sanitation and water, and representatives from donor countries to gain a greater understanding of the linkages between water, sanitation, and economic growth, in order to commit the appropriate resources, as well as to promote a culture of mutual accountability, partnership and shared responsibility.

Click here to download the GLAAS report.

Click here to download the press release by WHO and UNICEF.

The Fund will provide 5 million USD over five years for a regional approach mainly aiming at demand creation, awareness raising and adoption of good hygiene practices. Global Sanitation Funds will not be used for direct subsidy for construction of toilet facilities.

For more information about the programme and the actors in Madagascar visit the Global Sanitation Fund Madagascar page here.

Download the press release in English or French by clicking on the language.

Medical Care Development International (MCDI) was selected through a competitive United Nations process and will be responsible for receiving the Global Sanitation Funds in Madagascar and selecting and entering into agreement with the Sub-Grantees who will implement the work programme on the ground.

Madagascar is the first of the seven countries selected for the first round of funding to see the selection of the Executing Agency which formally launches the programme in country.

For more information about the Global Sanitation Fund in Madagascar visit here. To learn more about MCDI visit www.mcd.org.

To read the press release please click here.

Ms. Marlin assumes her post on 1 March. It is the latest stop in a career that has seen her serve as a senior communications consultant for Dynamics Group, Switzerland, manager of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s (GAIN) communications programme, and technical officer for communications and information at the World Health Organization. Before that, she worked in Australia at the National Breast Cancer Centre, NSW Cancer Council, and Action on Smoking and Health.

To read the press release please click here.

To read the press release please click here.

WASH United is a new initiative bringing together leading civil society organizations, UN
agencies and governments in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene, using the power
of football to catalyse social and behavioural change. WASH United takes advantage of
the burgeoning football fever across the African continent leading up to the 2010 World
Cup in South Africa and works with African and international football stars as champions
to promote WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) for all in Sub-Saharan Africa.

WASH United's mission: to tackle taboos and help create demand for sanitation;
to promote hand-washing with soap; to advocate for political decision-makers to promote the right to water and sanitation and to sensitiye people that access to these basic services is a right, not charity.

Job purpose: to coordinate WASH United activities in-country.

Post holder reports to: regional coordinator/WASH United international coordinator.

Budget responsibilities: the person will be responsible for a limited budget.

Competitive salary.

Key responsibilities: plan, coordinate, facilitate, supervise, and monitor, in close collaboration with national and local partner organizations, the implementation of WASH United activities in country.

This includes planning and implementation of:

• Country partner workshop and national launch event
• Poster campaign
• Public screening events
• WASH in schools and football clubs campaign
• Broadcast of radio and TV clips

Also, facilitation of contacts with the national media and contacts with and access to
national football stars.

Skills and competences:

• Bachelor degree in social science
• Three years' work experience, including a coordination role, management of
events, marketing, networking and alliance building with other agencies and
organizations
• Knowledge of the water and sanitation sector
• Knowledge of human rights, particularly the right to water and sanitation
desirable
• Experience in financial management
• Ability to think/operate innovatively and strategically
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team
• Ability to develop and implement advocacy strategies
• Excellent representational and lobbying skills, and experience of advocacy with
senior decision-makers
• Excellent oral and written communications skills
• Ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines
• Personal qualities that ensure effective work with other people and selfmanagement,
including flexibility, respect for others, and sense of humour
• Experience of using media to further advocacy and campaigns objectives
• Working knowledge of English required for all countries. Working knowledge of
French required for Mali. Knowledge of local languages desirable.

We would also accept applications from an appropriate organization, which could offer a
dedicated person with the above skills.

Please send cover letter, CV and names of references to Virginia Roaf, Senior
Researcher: virginia.roaf[at]wash-united.org

Deadline for applications: 5 February 2010.

For information on WASH United, please contact Virginia Roaf or visit the preliminary website: http://www.wash-united.org/index2.php/

International Anti-Corruption Day,  

The International Anti-Corruption Day takes place annually on 09 December to commemorate the adoption of the United Nation’s Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and aims to raise society’s awareness of corruption. Corruption is a big issue in every sector and must be fought in order to combat inequity. It is often the driving force towards instability, failed institutions and poverty. No country is immune to it.

The UNCAC was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2003 and entered into force during 2005. It is a global treaty signed by 140 countries to date and provides a legally-binding framework against corruption. It is perhaps unique in that it provides a clear mandate for the participation of civil society for monitoring and accountability purposes in interactions with both government and the private sector and in this sense forms very much the back-bone of WIN’s efforts in the water and sanitation sector.

On this year’s occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day WIN has collaborated with the WSSCC to bring to bear a special interview between Teun Bastemeijer, WIN Manager and Jon Lane, Executive Director of WSSCC. The purpose of the interview is to raise awareness of the nature of corruption in the sanitation sector, which we hope will bring to light some of the basic and pertinent issues in the sector. It is hoped that this contribution will be a means by which you can also take action today to raise this awareness amongst your peers and friends in order to recognise it and help fight it.

Corruption in the Sanitation Sector

Participants:

Teun Bastemeijer (TB), Manager, Water Integrity Network (WIN)

Jon Lane (JL), Executive Director, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) 

1.To JL:What is corruption in the water sector and why was there a need to found the Water Integrity Network? 

TB: Defining corruption brings you to some fairly complex discussions that touch upon forms of unethical behaviours that are commonly called ‘corruption’. In the water sector corruption has many faces and commonly manifests in planning processes, policy choices, technology choices, as well as large corruption, regarding for instance, dams. Corruption can also touch upon small issues such as service connection fees for water supply, or illegal payments related to obtaining water rights or licences.  

The WIN initiative was needed because the effect of corruption on the daily lives of people in certain countries is dramatic. WIN is not only about promoting water integrity to prevent corruption, but also to bring in more equity. WIN is unique – perhaps the first kind of initiative where people from the sector itself (water and sanitation, hydropower, irrigation etc), realised that something needed to be done. 

2.To JL:What are the risks and opportunities for corruption in sanitation? 

JL: The sanitation sector like many others is prone to corruption, particularly due to complex planning and construction requirements and since provision of facilities and services involves large amounts of public money and involves many different actors at different stages. This process provides opportunities for diverting public funds for personal gain and the effects of corruption can be devastating, for example in southern India 20 to 30% of funds and materials are diverted from sanitation programmes due to corruption. Funds can be diverted from those in need, by re-allocating funds for remote rural areas towards richer city constituencies, overcharging for construction works, or simply poor construction using inferior materials. Subsidy-driven programmes can be particularly prone to corruption. A problem we face in the sanitation sector is that sanitation is often fragmented between different ministries which greatly complicates and often jeopardizes action-oriented decision-making and budget allocation. Responsibilities, decisions and money are often hard to track to hold people accountable. 

3.To JL:To TB: Who is most severely affected by corruption in sanitation? 

TB: There are two ways of looking at sanitation: household sanitation and environmental sanitation. With household sanitation, there is often an interest to promote technologies that have a higher cost than that which poor people can afford and therefore often require subsidies to get to a solution. Such subsidies can be diverted and tend to benefit higher income groups. Corruption thus mostly affects equity and access to sanitation facilities for poor and vulnerable people. The lack of hygiene and sanitation affects children, families and therefore women more than men.

Household sanitation cannot be seen in isolation from environmental sanitation, certainly not in a world where urban areas are growing fast and where pollution and contamination issues are very important at the wider scale. To cope with these wider issues considerable investments are needed, not only in household latrines or toilets, but also in ways to deal with the waste products. Many processes of public investments will soon be on their way in order to cope with the effects of high density population and to some extent, for adaptation to climate change. Again in these complex processes there are multiple opportunities for corruption. In this case it is likely that poor peripheral urban people will be most affected and it is fairly clear that their health will be put into danger. Environmental sanitation goes well beyond toilets.  

4.To JL: Could you provide an example of the negative effects of corruption in sanitation to ordinary people?

JL: Let's take the example of a woman living in a rural area in India or Burkina Faso. Her husband is a subsistence farmer and they have five children, one of them being a girl. The nearest water source is an unprotected water pond half an hour walking distance from their home, and open defecation is the rule in the village. The reality of that woman is the following: she wakes up at five o'clock to relieve herself in the bush, enduring stomach cramps and being afraid of a sexual assault. She is the one that walks an hour everyday, together with her daughter who often misses school to help her, to bring water home from the pond, unsure of the water quality. She is the one caring for her children sick with diarrhoea. Her daughter's future will be identical to hers as she will leave school once her menstruation starts, because the school doesn't have toilets for girls. Basic human dignity and safety, good health and economic income are all concepts that she will not get to experience during her lifetime. That might be because the village committee official diverted public funds that were dedicated to providing safe wells and water pumps to the people, or because the activities of a CBO working on hygiene education and demand creation for sanitation were prevented from taking place because national government officials diverted aid money towards a city's neighborhood where voices were needed for the upcoming election. For the Indian or Burkinabe family, poor sanitation and lack of clean water, is a matter of life and death.

5.To JL:What are the tools and mechanism that can reduce corruption in sanitation?</ font>

TB: The most important mechanism is people. In spite of a lot of good work done, people are not yet their own allies. This requires a wider communication effort where the link between integrity, honesty and prevention of corruption can gradually be made. Sanitation has a strong cultural element and the link between poor sanitation and disease needs to be realised better, especially where cultural beliefs mask this reality. There is a need for communication and education that continues, to see what can be done better. But the most important mechanism is people themselves, including decision makers – who are toilet users themselves.

There are of course other tools. The WASH campaign is for example, an excellent vehicle for communication with a long track record on these issues, but there are others too, including UNICEF. Another tool is to link up with professional education. I believe that because sanitation has not been dealt with as a priority, it is also low on the priority of many educational institutes, or among professional capacity-building organisations analysing where the corruption risk in sanitation have been and might be, occurring in the future.

JL: Taking into account the human dimension of corruption, and the quest for its true victims, meaning those that can the least afford it but still bear the highest cost, is crucial to meet the sanitation target of the Millennium Development Goals, and ultimately to achieve sanitation for all people. Targeted and clear communication is key at all levels, from people themselves who must be aware that they have the right to demand accountability, to government decision-makers and private sector providers, as well as the alliances between anti-corruption, human rights and sanitation sector stakeholders.

WSSCC is a strong advocate of software approaches to sanitation, meaning interventions towards behaviour change, hygiene education and demand creation, as opposed to hardware approaches mostly based on infrastructure and technical only solutions. The same is true when it comes to combating corruption in the sector. Information, people's awareness of what they need and want and small scale entrepreneurship that promotes competition and innovation make up the tools and mechanisms to reduce corruption in the sanitation sector.

4.To JL:What do you perceive is the responsibility of government, private companies, communities and media professionals towards improving integrity and transparency in sanitation? What is the role of the UNCAC in fighting corruption in the water sector?

TB: The UNCAC plays only a small role as a convention. It is those who have signed the convention who commit to applying its rules and principles and should also expect that their compliance is monitored. This is not really happening and the link between UNCAC and the water and sanitation sector is not well defined and thus the link remains rather loose because the UNCAC is not really affecting behaviour in the water sector. There might be an anti-corruption commission or other mechanisms in place with often little capacity. They may succeed in ensuring that certain UNCAC rules and principles are gradually applied in the country, but what we see so far is that it hardly seems to touch the water and sanitation sectors. Where it might become more important is in greater state reform processes, such as decentralization. If the UNCAC starts to be applied in such a way that it touches on decentralized bodies that have mandates to deal with water and sanitation services issues, then it might have certain value.

Communication and media professionals, communities and civil society, ideally speaking would have a role to play on the demand side to create noise about its application and verification mechanisms, which for the moment are not adequately in place. In countries where there is high resistance against the UNCAC principles, or where it is perceived as something from the outside, or that there are other ways to deal with the issue, the only way to proceed might be for people to take responsibility to mobilize through a wider coalition of organisations, CBOs, local authorities and service providers, who really share the principles of WIN and who jointly work together to make transparency and integrity principles apply to the water and sanitation, as well as parts of the health sector.

JL: If you look at the reality of developing countries, there is a strong correlation between lack of access to sanitation, a low rating on the human development index and a high rating on the corruption perception index. These three strong indicators of unacceptable living conditions for poor people in these countries have at least one solution in common: political will. It is the government's responsibility towards its people to create an enabling environment for the provision of sanitation services to all, free from corruption. A legal framework is necessary to restrict corruption's operating space, for example by legalizing informal service providers instead of ignoring them and letting the poorest people bear the cost or forbidding them and jeopardizing the only access that the poor have to water supply and sanitation services. Protection must be guaranteed for 'whistleblowers'. A free media and strong civil society can expose corruption practices and contribute to create awareness at all levels, from slum dwellers to the highest level of government decision-makers, are also sine qua non conditions. In order to achieve tangible and sustainable economic benefits, public revenues and access to adequate sanitation, a long-term vision must be the driving force. Corruption must be reported, and it must be resisted.

My colleague Teun Bastemeijer answered the question about the UNCAC. The only thing I would have to add is that until the 1990's corruption was perceived on the international arena mostly in economic terms, and often as an inevitable part of development work. To take an example, in the World Bank it was only referred to as the 'C word'. It is not until James Wolfensohn's reference to corruption as a question that had to be tackled to reach equitable development and poverty reduction, that the latter was included as an integral part of the Bank's programmes. This institutional shift is characteristic of the general evolution of perception of corruption from a pure cost-benefit analysis to the inclusion in the debate of its human rights and social development dimensions. The road from the OECD convention to the UNCAC also demonstrates a shift from a narrow economic approach to a rights-based one. The creation of Transparency International by a former World Bank employee, and later the creation of the Water Integrity Network are very strong examples of this trend that, in my opinion, is going in the right direction towards improving transparency and integrity in general, and in the sanitation sector in particular.

6.To JL:What is your organization doing to promote anti-corruption practice?

TB: WIN tends to focus on water and sanitation integrity practice to help prevent or reduce corruption. So far, WIN has done a mix of advocacy and communications at the international level, to make it possible for people in countries to talk about corruption in the water and sanitation sector. We have succeeded to quite an extent in changing the situation, in a sense that there is now a lot more discussion about these issues. We are also in the process of implementing a wider set of communication activities: visualizing corruption through different means (photos, artist expressions).

WIN is a young initiative with limited capacity, so we do the maximum with the few resources that we have. Of course we also have an important focus on developing ways to promote water integrity action, which includes sanitation. That is a whole process we are testing at present and we are gaining experience in a number of countries and continents.

JL: WSSCC is a membership based organization, whose raison d'être is to foster knowledge and information flows and partnerships to achieve safe water supply and sanitation for all people. Through networking and knowledge management work, together with advocacy and communications activities, we produce and share information and concrete messages with field actors directly working with communities and with media professionals for example, while also targeting ministers and advocating for leadership in the sanitation sector at the global and national levels. WSSCC's vision is to be a collaborative platform and to ensure the flow of information within its membership and networks in countries where the sanitation need is the greatest, and to work through collaboration and coordination, and not duplication of efforts and initiatives. Anti-corruption messages are therefore integrated in our work through our partnership with WIN, and milestone events such as the International Anti-corruption Day are an example of joint efforts. The latter are also happening at the national level between WSSCC's National WASH Coalitions and WIN's network in the same countries. Talking about corruption and talking about shit have an essential thing in common: it is way too often taboo and politically incorrect. Communications and advocacy work linking these issues can provide tools to sanitation and anti-corruption advocates and potentially have a very powerful outcome.

7.To JL:How do you envision a world free of corruption?

TB: A world without corruption seems difficult to envision because corruption is not easily defined and doesn’t present the same face everywhere and may change over time. Therefore what I would envision is a world with reduced corruption and enhanced ethical behaviour for the betterment of human beings, with a special focus on the poor and the vulnerable.

JL: Corruption means different things to different people. But one thing that can't be questioned is that corruption is the opposite of good governance. When there is no good governance and no accountability in place, poor people are sidelined and their voices are not heard. So I would like to envisage a world where human need and not human greed, directs decisions that impact human lives. 2.5 billion people, that is one in every four human beings, don’t have a safe place to relieve the most basic of human needs and politicians reading their newspaper in a safe and clean toilet must remember that before accepting a bribe or turning a blind eye.

Download the interview in PDF version here.

About 250 participants from sector ministries, regional and woreda bureaus, donors, CSOs, higher institutions, professional associations, private sectors, media etc. are expected to attend the festival. The festival comprises plenary and parallel sessions on urban sanitation and hygiene issues, joint learning field trips, exhibition and knowledge fair, national sanitation and hygiene award, student performance and award and a media conference. 

Download the programme of the festival here. For more information contact Michael Negash, WSSCC National Coordinator for Ethiopia at michaelN[at]wateraidet.org.

• Donwload the document in French
• Download the press release in French

Government, Civil Society Organisations, Private Sector, Faith-based Organisations and individuals cooperate in the Ethiopian coalition. The major focus of the WASH Ethiopia Movement is promoting Water, Sanitation and Hygiene issues throughout the country and contributing to reduction of existing high morbidity and mortality caused by lack of safe and adequate water, poor sanitation and hygiene for domestic use.

The AMCOW AfricaSan Awards will take place on November 12th during the Africa Water Week, and serve to recognize sanitation and hygiene achievements in Africa.

To learn more about the WASH Ethiopia Movement visit the coalition's web page or read the Ethiopia case study from the WASH Case Study Series.

Read or download the newsletter in English, French or Spanish here.

About 1.2 billion of the 2.6 billion people who do not have access to adequate sanitation regularly defecate in the open. Feces and urine-contaminated water mean that people are literally drinking down bacteria, worms, and larvae that cause diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, and cholera, among other life-threatening diseases and conditions.

Diarrhea, usually caused by poor sanitation, is the second leading cause of death of children under five and is responsible for the deaths of at least 1.5 million kids under five every year. Improving sanitation in a poor area regularly causes the local annual child death count to plummet.

“No access to sanitation is a polite way of saying that people draw water for drinking, cooking, and washing from rivers, lakes, ditches, and drains fouled with human and animal excrement,” said Kevin Watkins, head of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office.

While about 70 million more people gain access to safe and sanitary toilets every year, that number roughly matches the world’s annual population growth—the vast majority of which occurs in urban areas of developing countries—leaving the number of people without access to toilets largely unchanged.

Investment in sanitation provides a significant economic boost to the communities that it touches. A recent UN University study found that hygiene, particularly hand washing, is the single most cost-effective health intervention available.

“For every $1 invested in sanitation, $9 in direct or indirect economic benefits are earned,” David Trouba, a program officer with the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), told MediaGlobal. “This is mainly due to savings in time from not being sick, which burdens the health system and causes people to miss work.”

To read the full article visit http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2009-08-19/investing-in-safe-and-clean-toilets-vital-to-curb-deaths-by-water-born-diseases

As Public Funding for Sanitation explains, the discussion on appropriate sanitation financing mechanisms for the poor goes far beyond the use of hardware subsidies. It must take into account aspects of hardware and software, capital and operational expenditure, the type of sanitation system being built, and, ultimately, the users of the sanitation system. This primer assists the reader in understanding the global debate on subsidies and sanitation financing, and provides guidance on how to select the most appropriate funding arrangements for sanitation programming in different situations.

Read the press release here. Download the report here.

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) is pleased to invite entries for the maiden AfricaSan Awards competition.

This announcement is for the first set of award categories: Leadership and Ministerial Award; Technical Innovation Award; and, the NGO/Civil Society Award.

Those interested may nominate themselves or other individuals or institutions. Nominations should include the name and contact details of the nominee, and a short statement (no more than 500 words) about their work and why they deserve the award. The nominees must be involved in sanitation and hygiene-related activities within Africa.

Nominations (in English, French or Portuguese) should be sent to nominations[at]africasanawards.org by October 9, 2009.

Entries will be reviewed by a technical committee of experts and judged by a panel of eminent sector leaders. Winners will be announced in mid-October and sponsored to attend the Second African Water Week in South Africa, from November 9 to 13, 2009, where they will receive a prize, a trophy and a certificate.

For more information please write to: nominations[at]africasanawards.org or call: Thompson Abu (+234(0)803 311 9493).

Read more by clicking on the links below:

• Press release, ENG, FR, ESP
• Questions & Answers, ENG, FR, ESP
• Letter to WSSCC members from the Chair, ENG, FR, ESP