scholarly journals Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Sierra Leone: Impact evaluation of the ‘Improved WASH Services in WAU and WAR Districts’ project

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaynie Vonk

Between October 2016 and March 2019, the Freetown WASH Consortium, led by Oxfam with Against Hunger, Concern Worldwide and Save the Children as members, carried out the 'Improved WASH Services in Western Area Urban (WAU) and Western Area Rural (WAR) Districts' project. Broadly, the project aimed to improve the availability, accessibility, affordability and sustainability of integrated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, in alignment with the Government of Sierra Leone's national agenda on Ebola recovery and increased preparedness against possible future outbreaks. This Effectiveness Review evaluates the success of this project to increase the sustainability of water and sanitation systems and services. Using a quasi-experimental, mixed method evaluation design, impact is assessed among individuals, households and communities in intervention and comparison areas. Community-level factors contributing to better individual- and household-level outcomes are explored. Find out more by reading the full report now.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaynie Vonk

The ‘Urban WASH' project was implemented in George and Chawama compounds in Lusaka between July 2013 and June 2017 by Oxfam and Village Water Zambia. The project aimed to improve provision and sustainable management of WASH services by engaging citizens to hold duty bearers and service providers to account. Oxfam collaborated with local institutions on an array of activities, engaging stakeholders to create a conducive environment for service provision and improving capacities and practices. This Effectiveness Review evaluates the success of this project to increase the sustainability of water and sanitation systems and services. Using a quasi-experimental evaluation design, we assessed impact among households in the intervention communities and in a comparison community. We combined the household-level quantitative assessment with analysis of community-level qualitative Key Informant Interviews, carried out with relevant institutional representatives. Find out more by reading the full report now.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazutaka Sekine ◽  
Mellisa Roskosky

Abstract After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal that killed approximately 9,000 people, the country faced an increased risk of cholera outbreaks due to extensive destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure and massive displacement. The disaster revealed long-standing weaknesses in water and sanitation systems in the country. Anticipating a cholera outbreak in 2016, UNICEF, Johns Hopkins University, and the Group for Technical Assistance partnered to support the Government of Nepal to ensure a safe water supply and improve sanitation and hygiene. This article discusses challenges, gaps, lessons learned and recommendations that were drawn from the authors' experience in cholera prevention and control in post-earthquake Nepal. Challenges identified include lack of regular water quality testing and monitoring, inconsistent use of point-of-use water treatment products, and lack of a fast-track mechanism for rapid response. The article argues for building a resilient water and sanitation system to secure sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 630-641
Author(s):  
M. P. Ram Mohan ◽  
Anvita Dulluri

Abstract This paper undertakes a thorough review of the legislative and policy framework of water supply and sanitation in India within the larger backdrop of the universal affirmation of right to water and sanitation under the UN WASH initiatives, first articulated under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Recognizing the proactive role played by the Indian judiciary in this regard, the paper examines various patterns of judicial reasoning in realising the right to water and sanitation as Constitutional rights of citizens. The paper observes that through a consistent ‘rights-based’ approach, the Indian judiciary has systematically articulated and achieved the objectives of the UN WASH initiatives long before they were spelled out under the MDGs. The paper highlights the need for the Government to recognise and incorporate judicial insights in implementing developmental projects under the WASH initiatives.


Author(s):  
Kaitlin Mattos ◽  
John Warren ◽  
Laura Eichelberger ◽  
Jessica Kaminsky ◽  
Karl G. Linden

Abstract Mid-tech water and sanitation infrastructure – interventions that make moderate use of resources, materials, and technology while providing improvements in health and well-being – may serve an important intermediate role for communities that cannot immediately get high-tech piped infrastructure. However, such systems must be socially appropriate, technically functional, and sustainable. We determined the combinations of technical and social conditions that contribute to the success of household, mid-tech water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). We collected data on 32 household mid-tech Portable Alternative Sanitation Systems (PASS) installed in remote, rural Alaskan communities for 1 year. We then coded qualitative and quantitative data for each household ‘case’ into fuzzy-set values for four technical conditions and four social conditions. We conducted fuzzy-set QCA analyses to determine combinations of conditions (pathways) that led to the successful function and use of PASS. We identified multiple pathways for the success of PASS units, requiring combinations of technical and social conditions. Our analysis reveals that the successful implementation of household mid-tech WASH infrastructure is complicated. We recommend that deliberate steps be taken to engage homeowners, provide appropriate training and support, determine ownership parameters, and ensure the technical sufficiency of mid-tech systems before they are deployed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13324
Author(s):  
Rizwana Subhani ◽  
Shahab E. Saqib ◽  
Md. Anishur Rahman ◽  
Mokbul Morshed Ahmad ◽  
Siriporn Pradit

The severe tropical Cyclone Yaas hit on 26 May 2021 in 16 coastal districts of Bangladesh and affected 1.30 million people. Moreover, the study areas are highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the vulnerability of the people. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the impact of cyclone Yass aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the southwest coastal zone of Bangladesh. COVID-19-aggregated Cyclone Yaas impact data at the household level were collected from Kalapara Upozilla of Potuakhali district, the area most affected by Cyclone Yaas. A total of 196 households were surveyed, and a quantitative approach was applied to analyse the data. The results show that households in the study area were severely affected by Cyclone Yaas in terms of income, housing, food consumption patterns, and water sanitation and hygiene. The outcome also revealed that the affected households received relief from the government, international/non-government organizations, donor agencies, as well as adopted coping strategies such as obtaining credit, selling assets, reducing daily meal intake, and tapping into savings. These strategies may be useful for a temporary recovery but not for the long term. The results of the study will help policymakers to reform policies.


Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 627-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edina Sinanovic ◽  
Sandi Mbatsha ◽  
Stephen Gundry ◽  
Jim Wright ◽  
Clas Rehnberg

The burden of water-related disease is closely related to both the socio-economic situation and public health issues like access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services. Poverty eradication, through improved access to water and sanitation, is the South African government's major priority. This is partly achieved through subsidising the cost of water and sanitation provision to the poor in rural areas. Whilst the new policies have made a remarkable impact on improved access to water and sanitation services, a general problem since the new approach in 1994 has been the lack of integration of policies for water and sanitation and health. This paper analyses the policies concerning rural water supply and sanitation in South Africa. It considers the structure of institutions, the division of responsibilities and legislated and financial capacity of the South Africa's water sector. A more integrated approach for the policies aiming at water access, sanitation and health is needed. In addition, as the local government's capacity to implement different programmes is limited, a review of the financing system is necessary.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7478
Author(s):  
Hyunjung Kim ◽  
Eun Jung Kim

Since the dawn of the 21st century, Japan has switched its national industry strategy from traditional industries—manufacturing and trading—toward tourism. Regional revitalization is a particularly important issue in Japan, and by uniting regions as an integrated tourism zone, the government expects an increase in visits to tourism zones. This study quantitatively evaluates whether the regions that contain a tourism zone experience a significant increase in visitors by using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design. Additionally, it examines the effects of subsidies through regression modeling. The results indicated that the tourism zones that were comprised of a narrow region in the same prefectures experienced a significant increase in visitors. The subsidy on information transmission, measures for the secondary traffic, and space formation had a significant positive impact on the increase in visitors to these tourism zones. Implications on tourism policies, urban and regional development, and community development can be obtained through this study.


2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1681) ◽  
pp. 20140275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabby N. Ahmadia ◽  
Louise Glew ◽  
Mikaela Provost ◽  
David Gill ◽  
Nur Ismu Hidayat ◽  
...  

Quasi-experimental impact evaluation approaches, which enable scholars to disentangle effects of conservation interventions from broader changes in the environment, are gaining momentum in the conservation sector. However, rigorous impact evaluation using statistical matching techniques to estimate the counterfactual have yet to be applied to marine protected areas (MPAs). While there are numerous studies investigating ‘impacts’ of MPAs that have generated considerable insights, results are variable. This variation has been linked to the biophysical and social context in which they are established, as well as attributes of management and governance. To inform decisions about MPA placement, design and implementation, we need to expand our understanding of conditions under which MPAs are likely to lead to positive outcomes by embracing advances in impact evaluation methodologies. Here, we describe the integration of impact evaluation within an MPA network monitoring programme in the Bird's Head Seascape, Indonesia. Specifically we (i) highlight the challenges of implementation ‘on the ground’ and in marine ecosystems and (ii) describe the transformation of an existing monitoring programme into a design appropriate for impact evaluation. This study offers one potential model for mainstreaming impact evaluation in the conservation sector.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Dassan ◽  
Joelson Oliveira Sampaio ◽  
Vinicius Augusto Brunassi Silva ◽  
Rodrigo De-Losso

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebrahim Rezaei

PurposeThis paper aims to disclose the savings behavior of Iran's economy in the context of demographic transition.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a version of Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans growth model, this paper benefits from a broad range of data and variables which are mainly taken from the Central Bank of Iran's database. The study uses actual and calculated data to produce analogous simulated data. The data cover the 1970–2015 period. This long period provides an opportunity to simulate more valid time series. It is worth noting that due to the severe economic sanctions imposed on the Iran's economy, particularly after 2017, some most recent data have been obliterated from the sample.FindingsThe results, stemming from the simulated model, hint that; firstly, the population variable is a notable determinant of the savings rate. Secondly, the effects of a slump in the population growth rate would attenuate the savings level significantly. Thirdly, other pragmatic steps could be taken to redress the fallout of the demographic changes.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations in providing broad data related to economic sectors in Iran. The savings data, for instance, are available as an aggregated time series, and if the authors had wide data of household level, they would have been able to build more detail-based model. Similar to this issue of lack of households’ income-based data, some measures such as high or low levels as well as detailed demographic data could be helpful in sophisticated household level resulting. In addition, the complex relationship between the government and social security (pension) funds, in terms of financing part of government's budget deficit by these funds, thwarts a typical researcher in using comprehensive and transparent government expenditure data in their research. In other words, the possible positive or negative role of the funds, as a related issue to the demographic changes, cannot simply be determined in the model. It might be possible after necessary corrections are carried out in the mentioned relations.Originality/valueIn fact, the problem statement in this paper is to discern how the population aging can impact the saving rates on the one hand, and to what extent its repercussion can be modified by the other theoretical-based determinants on the other. In fact, the underlying argument of the present research arises from the stylized facts concerning prognosticates of the future evolutions of the world's population. To that end, the study will use Iran's economic and demographic data.


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