Benin
Members of the WASH Coalition
While individual WSSCC members in Benin had been involved in WSSCC and WASH initiatives before, the initiative to develop a Benin WASH coalition took shape in 2006.
In April 2007 the Benin WASH Coalition established a Steering Group of active members responsible for making sure that the Benin WASH Action plan gets carried out.
The WASH coalition strengthened its strategic partnerships during 2008 through being member of the Steering Committee for the development of the 'Livre Bleu', Benin's main sector advocacy and monitoring report on WASH issues. Another partnership is the Public-Private Partnership on Hand Washing.
Focus The main goal of the Benin WASH Coalition is to contribute to Benin's achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through promotion of WASH in schools and communities throughout the country.
Major milestones and activities
Since its start up mid-2007, the Coalition has done a lot of promotion for the WASH programme in Benin and have developed a detailed action plan for the next years. An official national launch of the Benin WASH campaign in the presence of the main sector stakeholders was organised, and a Benin Network of Journalists for Water and Sanitation was established. Activities in 2008 included
- Improving the status of sanitation in national policies and strategies to advocate decision makers through presenting an evaluation of the economic gains related to investing in sanitation in Benin to a network of parlamentarians
- Improving the capacity and understanding of media professionals regarding WASH issues to increasing coverage on these issues
- Organising strategic monitoring to ensure implementation of the AfricaSan Action Plan in Benin;
- Promotion of the WASH programme in 10 public primary schools in the district of d'Abomey-Calavi
Various media related activities increased the visibility of the WASH coalition's work and increased public awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene related issues.
