Developing district WASH investment plans, a cornerstone of the district wide approach

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) has set ambitious targets of achieving universal access to basic water supply and sanitation by 2024 and providing safely managed services by 2030, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 targets. To do so, the GoR has adopted the “District Wide Approach” (DWA), a systems-based approach which considers the district as the entry point whilst recognising the broader national enabling environment. At district level, the holistic approach supported by Agenda for Change (A4C) partners seeks to strengthen the district as a service authority in all of its core functions, including planning for universal and sustainable services via the development of a District WASH Investment Plan.

The District WASH Investment Plan is a process as well as an output, which draws on technical (i.e. collecting and analysing data on services and costs), strategic (i.e. visioning, milestones and target setting) and collaborative (i.e. seeking consensus on pillars) capacities and uses various tools to collect and analyse data to support decision-making. The development of District WASH Investment Plans is ongoing in various districts in Rwanda and builds on similar experiences in other countries, including Ethiopia and Honduras, where A4C partners are active. 

The development of District WASH Investment Plans is ongoing in various districts in Rwanda. A4C partners - Water For People, WaterAid, IRC and Aguaconsult - are all active in supporting the process in Rwanda. This paper for the All systems go! WASH Systems Symposium provides an overview of the process, and some experience from Rulindo (Water For People) and Bugesera (WaterAid) to illustrate the process currently being applied more broadly. [author abstract]