Assessing mutual accountability to strengthen national WASH systems and achieve the SDG targets for water and sanitation

Abstract

Multi-stakeholder engagement is critical for making progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 ‘Ensure access to water and sanitation for all’, which is currently off track to be achieved by 2030. The aim of this paper was to investigate mutual accountability and multi-stakeholder platforms in the WASH sector in a diverse range of countries. Data were collected by Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Research and Learning Constituency partners and collaborators in five SWA member countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru and Somalia. Data collection involved document review, key informant interviews and workshops, and an online questionnaire. Across all the case study countries, there were no clear examples of mutual accountability mechanisms being widely used in the WASH sector. However, the findings indicate that some of the case study countries have active WASH multi-stakeholder platforms involving a range of actors from government, civil society and the private sector; however, these typically function as coordination and communication platforms rather than supporting mutual accountability. Other case study countries did not have multi-stakeholder platforms involving a diverse range of actors, and instead had platforms established for single stakeholder groups such as the private sector or civil society, leaving certain groups out of activities. Overall, the study highlights the importance of establishing strong multi-stakeholder processes and platforms that bring together a range of actors including government, civil society, private sector, research actors, and WASH external support organizations. Such platforms could provide a foundation to enable mutual accountability between these actors by providing a space to set commitments and monitor progress and have potential to strengthen WASH systems both nationally and globally.

Human rights, COVID-19, and barriers to safe water and sanitation among people experiencing homelessness in Mexico City

“…In light of these challenges there is a need for greater accountability for WASH duty bearers when the HRtWS is not realized (Dickin et al, 2022;Hepworth et al, 2022) as well as supporting empowerment of marginalized groups to claim their rights. To address some of these challenges on a local level Carrard et al (2020) describe a "make rights real" approach to make the human rights to water and sanitation relevant and helpful for local government.…”

Editorial: Systems strengthening and human rights as entry points for WASH

“…As previously mentioned, Huggett et al (2022) highlight the importance of changes at both individual/self-empowerment and enabling environment levels in pursuit of equality and non-discrimination. Hepworth et al (2022), Ceaser et al (2022), Dickin et al (2022) and Coultas et al (2022) all address the principle of accountability, as described further below. The human rights principles of transparency and access to information are given relatively less focus in included papers.…”

“…They provide a detailed theory of change for how such interventions achieve outcomes and the factors that shape performance. Dickin et al (2022) argue for the importance of accountability between multisectoral stakeholders at national level, known as mutual accountability. Findings from across five countries, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru and Somalia, demonstrate the nascent status of mutual accountability in the WASH sector.…”