3. November 2023
A world with adequate and equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for all is essential. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has therefore renewed its support to the Swiss Water and Sanitation Consortium (SWSC) for a fourth phase (2023–2027) with a total of 12 million francs. The consortium member NGOs mobilize an additional 9.7 million francs to support an increase in access to basic WASH for vulnerable populations in 12 countries throughout Africa and Asia.
Despite considerable progress accomplished globally since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, at halftime the world is seriously off-track from reaching SDG 6.1 and 6.2 on universal access to WASH by 2030. If the world is to meet these targets, a fourfold increase in coverage rate needs to be realized, with even a much higher rates required in many countries of the global South. Concurrently, the climate and environmental crisis puts progress further at risk and needs to be more than ever taken into account while working towards reaching the goals.
The SWSC, established in 2011 as a mechanism uniting Swiss NGOs, target their know-how and resources to make a difference in the living conditions of the most vulnerable people by improving access to safe and sustainable WASH services. In its earlier phases, the SWSC achieved significant results demonstrating itself as an appropriate mechanism for mainstreaming innovations, facilitating knowledge sharing and joining forces to advocate and influence policies at sub-national and national level. In recent years, a focused approach on WASH in institutions (schools and health care facilities) has been adopted, using this strategic entry point to influence WASH conditions and behaviours also in communities surrounding the targeted institutions.
The SWSC fourth phase will allow to further provide access to water, sanitation and hygiene services through implementation of 16 projects in 13 countries across South- and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This includes improving WASH services for people in around 270 schools, 170 health care facilities and 225 surrounding communities. Acknowledging that scaling of service delivery and sustaining services can only be reached through a strong enabling environment, the central strategy for Phase IV in all the projects will be investing in a systems-wide approach that aims for reinforcing systems at local and where appropriate, national levels. Key cross-cutting issues of gender and social equity, and, new in phase IV, climate resilience, will be mainstreamed into the SWSC projects.
Linking different levels (from local to national and beyond), the SWSC continues to work around five interrelated building blocks: i) fostering exchange and learning, ii) building evidence, iii) outreach & dissemination, iv) strengthening partnerships, and v) advocacy. The fourth phase will allow to significantly reinforce the advocacy strategy started in Phase III, with all projects encompassing significant advocacy workstreams and with a focus on strategic partnerships to influence local and national policies, strategies and budgets. The SWSC member organisations will continue to explore various innovations with the Global Innovation Fund enabling them to respond to promising innovation opportunities that may arise during the project phase. Evidence building will continue to play a key role for accountability and feeding into advocacy.
SWSC active members with projects under Phase IV: Caritas Switzerland, Fastenaktion, HEKS-EPER, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, Swiss Red Cross, Solidar Suisse, Swissaid and Terre des hommes. Affiliate members joining knowledge exchange: Antenna Foundation and Water for Water.
Contact: info@waterconsortium.ch