Opinions and voices for change
Navigate the blogs from our experts, water, sanitation and hygiene sector colleagues and guests. Narrow down your search by using the filters.
At IRC we're pretty clear about our aims – about the world we want to see. Everyone, everywhere enjoying access to water, sanitation and hygiene services that last forever. But how to get there? And what's our role? Read more...
The King's speech marks the opening of the Dutch parliamentary year. This year he drew attention to the important position of the Netherlands in the international water sector. The budgets that were presented alongside the speech also reflect this, notably with a 6% increase for the budget for WASH... Read more...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the target of reaching universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. But can this target realistically be achieved in the most difficult of settings: fragile states? Read more...
Mr Belwal is a community facilitator with the Himalaya Institute Hospital Trust, an NGO that, amongst others, develops water supply systems in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, through a programme supported by Himmothan Society. His main responsibility is ensuring that villages that have been "phased out... Read more...
Sangeeta Ramola is the former Pradhan (president) of the Gawana Gram Panchayat (local government), in the State of Uttarakhand, India. Her work and effort shows the importance of local political leaders in achieving access to rural water supply that lasts. Read more...
Two years ago, I posted a blog summarizing discussions on whether insuring rural water supply systems is a good idea. But these remained largely theoretical discussions, as there are few examples of such insurances put in place. During field work for the Community Water Plus project in the State of... Read more...
In the context of the devolution of political powers and responsibilities to the counties in Kenya, planning for water and sanitation services has to step up. Read more...
Using numbers in local planning for water resources and services helps stakeholders to make (conflicting) interests clearer and choices more explicit. Read more...
The Conference Financing for Development (13 – 16 July 2015) will make a strong call on the importance of increased domestic public finance towards funding the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Read more...
Together the Netherlands and the World Bank can make a substantive contribution to reaching a joint vision; sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services for all by 2030. The World Bank sees the Netherlands as a leading knowledge provider in the water sector. Dutch expertise can... Read more...
The COMAS – Municipal Water and Sanitation Committee – of the municipality of El Negrito (in the Department of Yoro, Honduras), is strongly committed to providing universal water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to its citizens. But it needs a plan to get there. And it needs to make a plan... Read more...
The new agenda for the future of water and sanitation, defined by the Sustainable Development Goals, aims at universal access for all by 2030. Achieving this mission will require a radical shift in how the water and sanitation sector operates. The main Dutch water and sanitation stakeholders urge... Read more...
A paradigm shift is needed to reach the ambitious new Sustainable Development Goals that propose reaching universal water and sanitation coverage with sustainable services for all by 2030. This implies shifting focus by all actors in the water and sanitation sector from construction of water and... Read more...
Mr Ragunathan, the ex-President of Ramianahalli village, proudly explains how his community had come together when facing a water crisis in 2004. But in subsequent years of 'times of plenty', much of the good practices of the village water and sanitation committee were lost. This is due to the... Read more...
Ultimate success in water service delivery is defined by the service level received by households. There can be excellent infrastructure and impeccable administration, but if households don't receive enough water of good enough quality without spending an excessive amount of time collecting it,... Read more...
While IRC/Triple-S was still operating in Lira District, it provided a lot of support to the newly established Sub-county Water Supply and Sanitation Boards. Since the closure of the Triple-S Initiative in the district in November 2014, the boards have strived to continue operating in spite of... Read more...
Saraswati Halder, the president of the Durganagar Kanchantala water committee, shows me the committee's bank booklet. It shows only one transaction: 100 Rupees (about 1.50 US$) deposited in 2011, more than 3 years ago. Read more...
While reviewing experiences with the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS), it is clear that there is a need to strengthen systematic, comprehensive, country-led processes which feed global monitoring. Read more...
One of the nicest water-related customs in Honduras is the breaking of the pot. When a village gets connected to a water system, part of the inauguration ceremony consists of an old woman from the village symbolically throwing a clay water-pot on the ground, so that it breaks. She will never need... Read more...
IRC Burkina Faso looked into management models that would permanently reduce the number and length of breakdowns of boreholes with hand pumps in rural Burkina Faso. Read more...