Changes are also required from within government including the district and central government agencies working in the WASH sector, and core agencies that provide the enabling environment for the WASH sector to operate effectively. This is a complex sector that requires a range of stakeholders to work together to achieve shared goals.
A summary of some of the key factors affecting access to rural water and sanitation and changes in hygiene behaviour are provided here, but a more detailed analysis is available in a separate document and will be presented in the final design document.
Factors Relating to Households and the Community
At the household level, there needs to be a demand for basic sanitation and hygiene practices. Knowledge or awareness of important practices such as hand-washing are commonly held (although the critical times for hand-washing are less well known). But there are other barriers to the adoption of hygiene practices - including environmental and motivational drivers that influence a household's willingness to invest in improved sanitation and hygiene (e.g. building a latrine with local materials, purchasing soap).
At the community level, access to safe water is constrained by the breakdown of community engagement in the planning, design, construction, management and maintenance of water systems. A further constraint has been limited women's decision-making on both design and management of rural water systems. Active and inclusive community engagement through organized water user groups is a prerequisite for sustained functionality of water systems.
Factors Relating to the Private and NGO Sectors
The private sector plays a key role as contractors for construction, rehabilitation or major maintenance tasks. They are also important as importers, wholesalers, producers or retailers of spare parts for maintenance of facilities, and for sanitation and hygiene products at the local level. NGOs construct facilities and empower communities to actively engage in the on-going maintenance of facilities. NGOs play an important role in improving community hygiene practices. Lastly, they play a broader role in promoting state accountability. Currently, contractors and NGOs do not always provide the desired level of quality of construction or value for money in the products and services they provide, mainly due to capacity constraints. They are not currently able to deliver products and services to adequately meet the needs of rural communities. NGOs are also challenged to provide quality mentoring and support to the Ministry of Health (MoH) District Health Service for Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).
Factors Relating to District Government in the RWASH Sector
District agencies include the District Water and Sanitation Service - SAS (in the Ministry of Infrastructure - MoI), the Department of Health Services - DHS (in MoH), and District Administrations (in the Ministry of State Administration and Territorial Management - MSATM). Annex 2 outlines district agency roles in water supply.
In terms of water system construction, BESIK's experience has demonstrated that three key district government functions have a major impact on water system quality and sustainability: survey and