In June 2010, WSUP was awarded a grant of $3.5 million Australian Dollars (approximately £2 million) by AusAID.

 

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid program. The objective of the aid program is to assist developing countries reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development, in line with Australia's national interest.

Background to the Grant

The grant was made from the AusAID Civil Society Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (WASH Fund). The WASH Fund totals AUD$32.6 million and is part of an overall AUD$300 million allocation by the Australian Government for water, sanitation and hygiene activities over the three years ending 30 June 2011. WSUP is one of three non-Australian organisations to be awarded a grant.

The AusAID Civil Society WASH Fund aims to enhance the health and quality of life of the poor and vulnerable by improving access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene. The Fund will build on the comparative advantages of Civil Society Organisations in community engagement and behaviour change, supporting the poorest and most vulnerable (including women and children in schools, in remote rural areas and the urban poor), innovation and demonstration of new approaches, and informing policy with grounded local-level experiences.

Planned Activities under the AusAID Grant

AusAID is funding three projects in the WSUP portfolio (Lusaka, Nairobi and Dhaka) under the overall “Stronger Service Providers, Better Services for All” Programme. These projects will combine improving access to water and sanitation services with comprehensive hygiene promotion campaigns and capacity building of WSUP’s service provider partners.

Each project site will also include activities unique to the location, for example:

Lusaka

• Supporting the establishment of a Water Trust in Mtendere East to operate and manage all aspects of water supply.
• Analysis of the microbiology of ecological sanitation urine diversion latrines to better understand and manage risks to public health.
• Drafting amendments to existing legislation on the handling of human waste and management of faecal matter from urine diversion latrines, working in partnership with relevant ministries, regulators and service providers.

 Nairobi

• Supporting the development of standards and codes of practice for water distributors operating within the water utility’s service area.
• Supporting the implementation of a non revenue water reduction programme by Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company including operational data collection and leak detection to reduce physical losses in the informal settlements.
• Trialling the rolling out of a large scale hygiene promotion campaign in conjunction with WSUP member Unilever’s Lifebuoy Brand.

 Dhaka

• Supporting the development of Community Action Plans (CAP) for water, sanitation and hygiene.
• Establishing an output based sanitation funding mechanism to enable communities to scale up service improvements without the need for intensive external assistance.
• Trialling the rolling out of a large scale hygiene promotion campaign in conjunction with WSUP member Unilever’s Lifebuoy Brand.

Outcomes 

The activities supported by AusAID will contribute to reaching WSUP’s broader vision for the sector through:

• Improved access to safe, affordable water supply and sanitation services for approximately 39,000 people.
• Improved capacity within communities to operate and manage facilities, ensuring sustainability of project activities.
• Successful large scale hygiene promotion campaigns delivering improved health and hygiene through behaviour change.
• Increased capacity within institutional service providers to provide improved water and sanitation services to the urban poor.