Country briefing Sierra Leone

Transcription

1 Country briefing Sierra Leone Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a partnership bringing together governments, donors, civil society and multilateral organisations at both global and national levels. It aims to ensure all people have access to basic sanitation and safe drinking water, with a specific focus on those countries most off-track in achieving this. To achieve this SWA calls for: Increased political prioritisation Strong national planning, investment and accountability Improved targeting and impact of resources Evidence-based decision-making Strengthened mutual accountability SWA aims to make this happen through three key components: 1) a High Level Meeting (HLM), 2) a global analysis and assessment of sanitation and drinking water (GLAAS) report, and 3) a National Planning for Results Initiative (NPRI). At present, the SWA partnership counts 83 partners (as of May 2012). The first HLM was held in 2010 and the second in Finance and sector ministers, and high level government officials from 45 developing countries participated in the 2012 HLM, and 37 developing countries made country-specific commitments to make progress towards ensuring water and sanitation for all. We can resolve to champion the progress of sanitation and water for all so that young lives are not lost for want of basic human needs; safe water and sanitation Honourable Oluniyi Robbin-Coker, Minister for Energy and Water Resources at the HLM - Photo: WaterAid/ Dermot Tatlow/ Panos Pictures Hon. Samuel Kofi Woods on behalf of H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia, Goodwill Ambassador for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa. The second HLM of the SWA partnership was held in Washington DC in April The Government of Sierra Leone was represented by Honourable Oluniyi Robbin-Coker, Minister for Energy and Water Resources, Honourable Zainab H Bangura, Minister for Health and Sanitation, and Honourable Dr Samura Kamara, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.This represented a unique opportunity for the Government to set out firm commitments to address the water and sanitation crisis in Sierra Leone.

2 Sector commitments In addition to the High Level Meeting, the meeting of Sector Ministers from developing countries was also held on 19 April This meeting came out with the Joint Statement which is summarised in the box below. In this meeting, the Government of Sierra Leone was represented by the Minister for Energy and Water Resources, who agreed, along with ministers of 39 other countries, to strive to achieve the following minimal increases 1 by the 2014 HLM 2 : 1 Decrease open defecation by at least 15%. 2 Increase improved water service access by at least 5%. 3 Increase access to improved sanitation services by at least 7%. 4 Increase water and sanitation service access to primary schools and rural health facilities by at least 10%. 5 Reduce the number of non-functioning water services by at least 10%. 6 Increase the practice of hand-washing with soap by at least 25%. 7 Increase water and sanitation budgets annually by at least 15% in real terms. 8 Ensure funding is not only provided for WASH infrastructure but is also allocated, by at least 10% of all WASH allocations, to hygiene promotion, behaviour change and demand creation. 1 Measured by JMP and GLAAS. 2 Link to full text:

3 Country specific commitments In addition to the joint commitments outlined above, the Government of Sierra Leone released an individual Statement of Commitments in which they made a number of additional pledges 3, many of which went beyond those agreed in the Sector Minister s Statement. In its HLM 2012 Country Statement of Commitments, the Government of Sierra Leone commits to: Increase resources for WASH by: 1 Prioritising, within our limited capacities, the allocation and utilisation of national resources for WASH. 2 Mainstreaming WASH into the planning and budgeting cycle with a clear and visible focus on each of the three components of WASH: water, sanitation and hygiene. 3 Increasing direct and targeted allocation for sanitation and hygiene out of our domestic revenues from 0.01% of GDP in 2012 to 1% of GDP by In that regard, Government allocation to sanitation and hygiene will be progressively increased as follows: a 0.01% in 2012 (baseline) b 0.3% of GDP in 2013 c 0.5% of GDP in 2014 d 1% of GDP in Developing and operating a WASH sector investment plan. 5 Preparing a consolidated plan to assist both the Government and its partners to define their contributions and properly adhere to the budgeting process. 6 Increasing Government capacity for monitoring and evaluation, including strengthening data collection systems, analysis and feedback to improve sector-wide information and decision-making. Improve coordination and regulation by: 1 Developing the necessary legal and regulatory framework, institutional and organisational arrangements for effective water resource management, drinking water supply, and water-related sanitation. 2 Improving sector leadership, including establishing and capacitating a Water Directorate within the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, and an Environmental Sanitation Directorate within the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. 3 Link to full text: _Statement_to_2012_HLM_EN.pdf

4 3 Improving coordination among the WASH agencies in Government by clarifying roles and responsibilities; defining areas of strategic engagement; ensuring policy alignment between actors and ensuring that strategies and action plans are harmonised and mutually complementary. 4 Amending the Acts establishing the two water service providers the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO) and Guma Water Company - in line with the National Decentralisation and National Water and Sanitation Policies. 5 Supporting the local council level to develop and enact bylaws to facilitate the delivery of WASH services and to enforce regulations during the coming months. 6 Improving coordination and harmonisation of the delivery approaches of state and non-state actors and development partners. Work with communities by: 1 Addressing youth and disability strategies in the coming months and years. 2 Strengthening the role of communities and citizens in WASH programming and service delivery, and more effective partnerships in civil society. 3 Effectively engaging with non-state actors, including communities and civil society. Monitor and regulate sector performance to: 1 Develop capacities and systems for data collection, analysis and feedback, with a view to providing sector actors with a common and credible basis for reviewing sector performance. 2 Emphasise stronger systems and more effective monitoring and evaluation. Improve WASH services delivery to: 1 Target hygiene issues in the health and education systems, and redirect school curricula to strengthen hygiene in teaching. 2 Target solid and liquid waste management, including medical waste management. 3 Mainstream sanitation and hygiene issues into public infrastructure development and town and country planning, with greater focus on urban drainage systems, congestion problems in slum areas, and strengthening building standards regulations. 4 Provide stronger and deeper support to Community-led Total Sanitation and hygiene, including the local government system.

5 Include cross-cutting issues by: 1 Deepening civil society engagement, defining gender, increasing the role of the private sector and improving sector knowledge and learning. Summary of analysis Sector coordination: We welcome the commitments made by the Government of Sierra Leone at the High Level Meeting, and believe that the country s involvement in the partnership offers many opportunities for building the capacity of the WASH sector and generating real ownership of the commitments made by decision-makers and improving delivery of services to citizens in Sierra Leone. Having a clear set of commitments also provides us in civil society an opportunity to engage and work with the Government to implement these pledges, and help bring all stakeholders to work in a more coordinated way in the sector. Improved sector coordination is also crucial to maximise the existing resources and ensure complementarities between ministerial efforts in the sector. The recent Memorandum of Understanding signed by the ministries of Energy and Water Resources, Finance and Economic Development, Local Government and Rural Development, Health and Sanitation, and Education, Science and Technology, is a step in the right direction and we look forward to seeing this work in practice. Sector financing: We particularly welcome the funding commitment to increase domestic revenue allocations to sanitation and hygiene to 1% of GDP by 2015, but need to clearly see this translated year on year within the national budget with distinct budget lines, a clear timetable and linking this with the development of a Sector Investment Plan. Sierra Leone is significantly off-track in terms of meeting its MDG targets on water and sanitation, and therefore the promised increase in financial resources for WASH must be coupled with building the capacity of decentralised entities at district and council levels if an increase in the implementation of services is to follow. Institutions and policies: The specific commitment on developing a strong legal and regulatory framework must be a priority area for the sector to ensure the quality standards and sustainability of WASH services and infrastructure. We would also like to reiterate the importance of linking these SWA commitments with other existing Government targets and promises and ensure they are referred to within the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and any future plans and policies. Sector monitoring and evaluation: The monitoring and evaluation of WASH is a key issue and one that several of these commitments aim to improve. It is important for the sector to build on the recent completion of water point mapping to institutionalise such processes to ensure the continuous updating of such valuable data to better inform decisions in the sector and monitor progress. Service delivery: With regards to CLTS, we value the Government s push behind this approach and the demand that this generates, but we are keen to see plans on supporting the supply side in ensuring the availability of affordable materials to construct and build latrines for communities to gradually move up the sanitation ladder.

6 Key recommendations The Government of Sierra Leone should: Develop a clear plan, backed by adequate resources, to achieve its HLM commitments (including an appropriate monitoring framework with milestones and timelines from now until the 2014 HLM). Continue dialogue between ministries (those who have signed the WASH Sector Collaboration memorandum of understanding), development partners and civil society organisations, in order to strengthen sector coordination and ensure prioritisation of WASH issues across the board. Continue to engage in SWA and actively participate at all future High Level Meetings. Take further steps to tackle equity and inclusion issues. Create specific separate budget lines for water, sanitation and hygiene in the national budget. Prioritise the development of a WASH investment plan. In addition, the Government should increase sanitation budget allocations to these in line with the SWA commitments, and set a timetable for increasing the budget for water to a target amount. Accelerate the establishment of the Water and Environmental Sanitation Directorates, including allocating adequate resources for these to function as they represent key drivers in implementing the WASH commitments. Build the capacity of sub-national (district, council, chiefdom) institutions and officials (such as sanitation inspectors) to improve the supervision and service delivery in the sector. Development partners should: Align their funding with national WASH policies and systems and comply with aid effectiveness principles (Paris Declaration). Continue to provide technical assistance to WASH stakeholders, specifically in strengthening the capacity of local councils in planning, budgeting and monitoring. Provide targeted sector budgetary support for the WASH sector to ensure sufficient funding is allocated to the ministries responsible for water and sanitation. Strengthen their coordination mechanisms to maximise the strategic value of their contributions to the sector. Civil society will: Monitor progress against commitments through existing tools such as WASHWatch.org and End Water Poverty s Keep Your Promises campaign. Take into account the political will demonstrated by the Government, and support the implementation of HLM commitments where appropriate. Improve their coordination to maximise their contributions and engagement in the SWA partnership and the WASH sector.