Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is a United Nations-hosted organization dedicated to advancing Sustainable Development Goal 6, Target 6.2 on sanitation and hygiene.[1]:24 It was established in 1990. WSSCC advocates for improved sanitation and hygiene, paying special attention to the needs of women, girls and people in vulnerable situations.[1]:24 WSSCC facilitates collaboration amongst a range of stakeholders around sanitation. It also contributes to the international community's goals of poverty eradication, health and environmental improvement, gender equality and long-term social and economic development.

Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
TypeIntergovernmental organization
FocusSanitation, hygiene
Location
Area served
Worldwide, with particular focus on developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Key people
Sue Coates, Executive Director
Hind Khatib-Othman, current chair of steering committee
Websitewsscc.org
Vision and Mission
WSSCC's Vision is “A world in which everyone, everywhere is able to practice safe sanitation and hygiene with dignity.”

WSSCC's main areas of focus are large-scale sanitation and hygiene behaviour change programmes through the Global Sanitation Fund - promoting sanitation and hygiene as the gateway to inclusion and opportunity; and bringing together leaders and activists to strengthen the global sanitation movement.

Background
Further information: Sanitation

WSSCC works to address the sanitation crisis and promote universal access to sanitation in collaboration with a range of partners.[1] The United Nations estimates that some 2.2 billion people lack basic sanitation services and 3 billion people lack access to basic handwashing facilities at home.[2] Poor sanitation costs countries approximately $229 billion annually (in 2015).[3]

WSSCC contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6, Target 6.2: "By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations."

Activities

WSSCC collaborates with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, civil society groups and the private sector internationally and at the national, regional and local levels. The organization also draws public attention for sanitation and hygiene topics on international days such as World Water Day, Menstrual Hygiene Day, World Toilet Day and Global Handwashing Day.[1]:4

Global Sanitation Fund

Through the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), a multi-donor United Nations trust fund, WSSCC supports national efforts to help rural communities improve their sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices. The GSF funds behaviour change activities. Community-led total sanitation is frequently utilized by GSF-funded national programmes, such as in Cambodia[4] and Nigeria.[5]

The GSF funds national programmes in Benin, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. WSSCC's Secretariat gathers funds and donations at the global level, selects the eligible countries for funding, and manages the disbursement of grants to national sanitation programmes.

In the period of 2008 to 2018, the Global Sanitation Fund has allocated over US$ 119 to sanitation projects in developing countries.[1]:24

The Global Sanitation Fund is a multi-donor United Nations trust fund that aims to help large numbers of people in developing countries improve their sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices.[6] GSF is an innovative way to finance sustainable development.[7]

Scope
Further information: Sanitation and Open defecation

Currently, 2 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, and 673 million defecate in the open.[8] Diarrheal disease, a preventable disease largely caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, is a leading cause of child malnutrition and mortality, claiming around 525,000 lives of children under 5 every year.[9]

The GSF, along with a diverse range of sector actors, aims to help address the sanitation and hygiene crisis by enabling tens of millions of people to live in open defecation free (ODF) environments and access adequate toilets and handwashing facilities.[10] These activities are also aimed at supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal Number 6. The United Nations system has identified global funding for sanitation and hygiene as key to enabling member countries to achieve their national development targets.[11]

The GSF funds behaviour change activities to help large numbers of poor people in hard to reach areas attain safe sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices. These activities are described as being community-based, supporting national efforts, and bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders.[12] The GSF works with a range of prominent entities in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors including the World Bank, Water Aid, UN-Water, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, Global Poverty Project and the CLTS Foundation.

Community-led total sanitation is frequently utilized by GSF-funded national programmes, such as in Cambodia[13] and Nigeria.[14]

The GSF currently funds, or has funded, national programmes in Benin, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. Results to-date are: 18.1 million people with access to improved sanitation facilities; 24.4 million people living in open defecation free environments; and 23.8 million people with access to basic handwashing facilities on premises.[15]

Governments in the following countries, mainly through the development assistance programmes, have contributed to the GSF. They are:

The GSF was established by WSSCC to boost financing to countries with high needs for improved sanitation. It was first established in 2007, in response to the United Nations Human Development Report for 2006, which raised the issue of the global sanitation crisis.[22]

Menstrual hygiene management
Further information: Menstrual hygiene management

A key challenge that WSSCC is addressing relates to the inclusion of menstrual hygiene management in the sustainable development agenda. WSSCC has highlighted that the taboo surrounding menstruation is a barrier to equal participation and opportunities for women.[23] A National Public Radio article[24] highlighted that many policy makers often admit that they had never considered questions around menstruation before.

Equality and non-discrimination

WSSCC advocates for equality, human rights and non-discrimination as central to ensuring access to safe water supply, adequate sanitation and good hygiene for all. In particular, WSSCC WASH advocates promote women's participation and leadership[25] and menstrual hygiene and health.[26][27][28]

Other focus areas

Other focus areas include sustaining behaviour change as well as ensuring reliable and consistent monitoring, particularly of households that return to previously abandoned unhygienic behaviours. WSSCC works on these issues through systems strengthening[29] and impact evaluations.[30]

Reports and campaigns

Notable reports and campaigns supported by WSSCC include:

  • 'We Can't Wait', a report in 2015 on sanitation and hygiene for women and girls produced in collaboration with WaterAid and Unilever[31]
  • The Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment report produced in collaboration with the WHO and UNICEF in 2015[32]
  • The United Nations 'End Open Defecation' campaign in 2015[33]
  • The Women for Water and Sanitation Declaration, sanctioned by the first ladies of Madagascar and Malawi, among others in 2015[34]

Organizational structure

WSSCC is administratively and legally hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) since 2009. WSSCC's Secretariat is governed by its Steering Committee. The current (in 2019) Secretariat’s Executive Director is Sue Coates (ad interim). WSSCC’s secretariat is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. WSSCC is an unincorporated membership organization and not a separate legal entity.

WSSCC's Steering Committee decides the policies and strategies of the organization, manages the governance process, and is accountable to both the membership and the donors for its work. It is made up of a chair, regional members, partner agency members, ex officio members, non-voting invitees, and permanent non-voting observers. All WSSCC members are eligible to stand and vote in elections for the Steering Committee.

WSSCC is the only UN body devoted solely to sanitation and hygiene.[1]:24

WSSCC has members in 150 countries.[1]:24

The "WSSCC community" includes staff based in Geneva, volunteer National Coordinators, Global Sanitation Fund programme managers, a democratically elected Steering Committee and bi-lateral donor partners.[35] The "national coordinators" work through WASH Coalitions in 16 countries to lead WSSCC’s work. They serve as coalition heads, spokespersons, and advocates for sanitation, hygiene and water supply issues.[36]

Steering Committee chair

The current chair (in 2019) is Hind Khatib-Othman.[1]

Funding

WSSCC receives or has received funding from several European governments as well as Australia. In 2016-2018 the donors to WSSCC's budget were the Governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.[1] In previous years, donors also included Australia, Finland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[37][38]

Finances

The expenditure in 2018 totaled US$ 18.2 million representing a 72% delivery rate against a budget of US$ 21.1 million.[1]

Partnerships

Key collaborating partners with WSSCC include WaterAid, the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) and UNICEF, among others. In 2020, WSSCC announced a stronger collaboration with SuSanA by merging their Community of Practice group into the SuSanA Discussion Forum.[39]

WSSCC hosted the communications team of Sanitation and Water for all (SWA) until the end of 2019 (from 2020 onwards, it is being hosted by UNICEF).

WSSCC partners with:

  • Global Citizen[40]
  • Global Water Partnership (GWP)[41]

History

In 1990, a group of senior staff of developing country governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, NGOs and research institutions founded WSSCC. On December 21, 1990, the 45th Session of the UN General Assembly elected to pass resolution A/RES/45/181,[42] which emphasized the “importance of intensifying the coordination of national activities undertaken with the assistance of all relevant agencies in the field of water supply and sanitation through, in particular, the inter-agency Steering Committee for Co-operative Action for the International Drinking Water Decade and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council”. Through this resolution the WSSCC was formally established as an independent organization with a United Nations mandate.

During the 1990s, WSSCC concentrated on sharing knowledge and convening thematic discussion groups on water- and sanitation-related topics. In 2000, WSSCC published Vision 21,[43] a proposal for achieving universal water, sanitation and hygiene coverage.

From 1991 to 2009, it was hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 2009, WSSCC has been hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).[44][45]

After 2000, WSSCC expanded its work to include advocacy and communications, and began to use the term "WASH" as an umbrella term for water, sanitation and hygiene from about 2001 onwards.[46]

WSSCC's members and staff lobbied for a Millennium Development Goal target for sanitation, which was adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.[47]

Since 2007, WSSCC has focused on sanitation and hygiene, adding a dedicated sanitation grant financing mechanism (the Global Sanitation Fund) in addition to its networking, knowledge and advocacy work.

Previous chairs of the steering committee include: Interim chairs Brad Herbert and Ebele Okeke in 2017-2018[1], Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Minister of Environment of Nigeria in 2016,[48][37] Andrew Cotton in 2014 to 2015,[38] Anna Tibaijuka in 2011 to 2013; Roberto Lenton in 2005 to 2010, Sir Richard Jolly in 1997 to 2004 and Margaret Catley-Carlson in 1990 to 1996.

Previous executive directors included Rolf Luyendijk (in 2018)[1], Chris Williams (in 2012 to 2016)[37] and Jon Lane (in 2007 to 2011).[44]

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References
  1. WSSCC (2018) Annual Report of WSSCC, Geneva, Switzerland
  2. "Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene I 2000-2017" (PDF). JMP. WHO/UNICEF. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  3. "The true cost of poor sanitation". LIXIL, WaterAid, Oxford Economics. 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  4. "Community-Led Total Sanitation in East Asia and Pacific" (PDF). UNICEF. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  5. "Women show the way in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  6. Global Sanitation Fund: Investing in Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene (PDF) (Pamphlet). Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  7. Williams, Chris W. (13 July 2015). "Can We Finance Sustainable Development?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  8. Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines (report). WHO / UNICEF. 2017. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  9. sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease "Diarrhoeal Disease" Check |url= value (help). World Health Organization. May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  10. Walter, Elynn (January 2013). "Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: A Global Crisis With Real Solutions" (PDF). Dimension: 30–32. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  11. Schmidt-Traub, Guido; Sachs, Jeffrey D. (2015). Financing Sustainable Development: Implementing the SDGs Through Effective Investment Strategies and Partnerships (PDF) (Working paper). Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  12. "WSSCC Progress in Meeting Sanitation and Hygiene Needs". Horizon International Solutions Site. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  13. Community-Led Total Sanitation in East Asia and Pacific (PDF). UNICEF. 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  14. Okeke, Ebele (21 March 2014). "Women Show the Way in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  15. "WSSCC, WaterAid Promote WASH for Refugees and Schools". SDG Knowledge Hub. International Institute for Sustainable Development. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  16. "Australia's Aid Program". Australian Government Department of foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  17. "Developmental Policy and Developmental Cooperation". Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  18. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  19. "Front". NoradDev. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  20. "Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency". SIDA. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  21. "Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation". Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  22. St. Denis, Stephen (22 November 2007). "A Simple Working Toilet Is a Luxury For Too Many". Toronto Star. Retrieved 7 September 2015 – via Newspaper Source - EBSCOhost.
  23. "Opinion: Let's Talk Menstruation. Period". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  24. "Trying To Add The 'M' Word (Menstruation) To The U.N.'s New Goals". NPR. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  25. "Women Show the Way in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  26. "The invention that aims to make periods less of a pain". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  27. "Disposable tampons aren't sustainable, but do women want to talk about it?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  28. "No Menstrual Hygiene For Indian Women Holds Economy Back". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  29. "Learning, progress and innovation: Sanitation and hygiene promotion in Madagascar" (PDF). WSSCC. Retrieved 2015-12-19.
  30. "The Evidence Programme on Sanitation and Hygiene" (PDF). WSSCC. Retrieved 2015-12-19.
  31. "We Can't Wait". WaterAid, Unilever, WSSCC. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  32. "UN reveals major gaps in water and sanitation – especially in rural areas". WHO. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  33. "Breaking the silence on open defecation". United Nations. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  34. "Women for water and sanitation declaration". Global Poverty Project. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  35. "Who we are". WSSCC. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  36. "Collaboration". WSSCC. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  37. WSSCC (2016) Annual Report for 2016, Geneva, Switzerland
  38. WSSCC (2015) Annual Report for 2015, Geneva, Switzerland
  39. "WSSCC announce merger of "Community of Practice" platform with SuSanA". WSSCC - News. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  40. "Global Citizen NGO Partners". Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  41. "Strategic Allies". GWP. Global Water Partnership. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  42. "A/RES/45/181. International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade". UN.org. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  43. "Vision 21: A Shared Vision for Hygiene, Sanitation and Water Supply and a Framework for Action" (PDF). IRC. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  44. "Water and sanitation body completes move to UNOPS". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  45. "How community-led and behaviour focused programming became central to improving sanitation standards". UNOPS News. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  46. Jong, D. de (2003) Advocacy for water, environmental sanitation and hygiene - Thematic overview paper, IRC, The Netherlands
  47. "World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)". WHO. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  48. "Amina Mohammed to Chair Leading WASH Organization". News Ghana. 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
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