Water Integrity Update
March 2021
In this issue:
Dear partners and friends,
Later this month, the theme of this year's World Water Day is Valuing Water. We believe water is so precious it must imperatively be protected from corruption, and the water sector must become an island of integrity. How this can be achieved in urban water and sanitation is the focus of our next Water Integrity Global Outlook (WIGO), which we will be publishing towards the end of this year. Should you wish to share ideas on the topic, take part in activities or be specifically informed of developments related to WIGO, please don't hesitate to contact us.
It's important to think about the value of water in the context of climate change. Our Executive Director talked to Ibrahim Pam, Head of the Integrity Unit at the Green Climate Fund, to discuss growing integrity risks, and how we can ensure that climate finance invested in the water sector is effective and is safeguarded from corruption.
As we celebrate International Women's Day on Monday, it's also important to consider the value of water with gender and social inclusion in mind. That means focusing on the crucial role of women in water but also examining how poor integrity affects women in particular. We also take a hard look at the issue of sextortion in the water sector, which too often falls under the radar. We are seeking new research partners to work with us on the topic, join us!
Stay safe and well,
The WIN team
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A picture worth a thousand words by Marco Simola, Shortlisted in WIN's photo competition 2011 on urban water.
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News and latest publications
- The upcoming Water Integrity Global Outlook (WIGO) on urban water and sanitation aims to guide local governments, CSOs, and funding and development partners on how to invest in integrity to improve services for all in urban and peri-urban areas. It also will provide insight to service providers, on the basis of our work with partners supporting utilities to manage integrity risks, improve service, and build creditworthiness.
We now just opened a Linkedin group on integrity management tools for service providers to further support peer learning online. Utility staff and partners are invited to share experiences of introducing integrity measures or using the Integrity Management Toolbox. Request to join us here.
- With support from GIZ, WIN is working with the 3 utilities of Yei, Torit, and Yambio in South Sudan to apply the Integrity Management Toolbox. That means that to date at least 24 utilities worldwide have worked or are working on assessing and managing integrity risks, including Rajshahi Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (RWASA), which completed its first integrity management workshop in late December 2020.
- Broken promises and COVID19 are creating new challenges for water and sanitation service providers. A guest post from the #GovernmentsPayYourWaterBills campaign: When government institutions don’t pay their water bills, they push water utilities towards insolvency and service delivery failure.
- In Kenya, partners KWAHO and KEWASNET are supporting communities in Kwale county to provide input to and follow local water budget processes, building accountability and integrity. In Nakuru county, the Neighbours Initiative Alliance is mentoring several new organisations, including CESPAD, to use the Integrity Management Toolbox for Small Water Supply Systems. This toolbox, used by managers of community-based or small systems, is proving itself as a collaborative approach that can bridge the trust between communities, NGOs, government authorities and water service providers. The toolbox, which is being successfully implemented in Mexico as well by partners ControlaTuGobierno and Cantaro Azul, will be evaluated in detail this year. Stay tuned for results.
- The Development Organization of the Rural Poor (DORP) have been recognized in the Water ChangeMaker Awards for their work with Mother’s Parliaments in Bangladesh. Congratulations!
- Training courses of the Accountability for Water have been completed in Tanzania and Kenya and participants are now working on proposals for Pre-Professional Research Fellow grants. We're looking forward to the launch of 9 accountability research projects in 5 countries to be launched in April!
More relevant reading and resources
Upcoming events
Opportunities
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