Public finance and accountability with Carlene van der Westhuizen & Catarina Fonseca

Historically, universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has been achieved through public finance. Currently though, high levels of perceived risk impede the necessary flow of funds to the WASH sector, setting the stage for less than ideal service delivery. Civil society can help narrow this budget gap by holding governments accountable to Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) targets and demanding the appropriate allocation of funds to the sector through improved transparency tools. Carlene van der Westhuizen of International Budget Partnership (IBP) speaks to host, Andy Narraccott, about IBP's budgeting tools, such as the Open Budget Survey, meant to empower civil society with the data they need to monitor government efforts and ultimately, to influence and correct negative trends. The podcast also features IRC's Head of International Programme, Catarina Fonseca, who shares personal anecdotes from her experiences in Ethiopia and further elaborates on the positive impact of transparency on improving trust in the sector and attracting investors.