New modelling estimates by Esther Greenwood and colleagues suggest that four billion people worldwide lack safe drinking water – double the number of people estimated in 2020. REACH Water Security Director Rob Hope gives his perspective on the new estimate and what can be done to address water safety, climate risks and data gaps.
Institutions
Revitalizing Stakeholder Engagement Strategies to Redress Water Security Challenges in Ethiopia
In June 2024, the International Water Management Institute convened academic institutions, private companies, NGOs, ministries, basin offices, city authorities, and research organizations to review and improve stakeholder engagement strategies in Ethiopia. Effective stakeholder engagement can help in identifying and implementing sustainable solutions, enhancing communication among stakeholders, and ensuring accountability. Read more in this blog piece from the workshop organizers.
Policy-makers meet to advance the water security agenda in Kenya
On October 27th, REACH Kenya welcomed Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Hon. Zachariah Njeru, as the opening speaker at the National Stakeholder Forum on Climate Resilience and Water Security. Governors from Kitui, Marsabit...
What can the rural water sector learn from francophone West Africa?
Meleesa Naughton Many countries are looking to expand rural water services and improve service levels for people living in small towns and rural areas by investing in small, decentralised piped water services. Francophone West Africa has a long history of delegating...
We are failing to deliver safe drinking water globally – what needs to change?
Uptime has designed and implemented contracts for results-based payments that incentivise reliability of water services through standardised volume and revenue metrics. We present new metrics, building on REACH research, to further incentivise water safety actions by service providers to deliver safer drinking water in small water systems that will be piloted in 2024.
Model results for scale-up of professionalized water services maintenance in Kenya suggest functionality gains and reduced government spending
Pranav Chintalapati, University of British Columbia Over the past decade, new approaches for rural water maintenance service provision have emerged, disrupting the status quo of community-based management and government intervention. FundiFix is one of a new cohort of...
Reliable water and hygiene services for Health Care Facilities in Kitui County, Kenya
Cliff Nyaga, University of Oxford In rural Kenya, Health Care Facilities (HCFs), specifically dispensaries and clinics, provide lifesaving care for millions of people living in remote villages. These areas are characterised by low population densities and high poverty...
Exit Strategy – sustaining and scaling water security impacts for the poor beyond 2024
After nine years of collective research on water security by over 50 global partners the REACH programme is due to close in 2024. While we are on track to meet the target of providing 10 million poor people with improved water security, this is a fragile outcome. We...
Professionalized maintenance of rural water services: Four findings from Kitui County, Kenya
The second in our #WWD22 releases, this post is based on 10 years of research from Kitui County, Kenya, supported by the REACH programme, the USAID Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership, UNICEF, ESRC and UKAID. It presents key findings from a policy brief on investing in professionalized maintenance for rural drinking water services.
Improving water security, reducing inequalities
As we mark World Water Day 2022, REACH is posting a series of new resources featuring work to improve water security in schools, health care facilities and households. Read more below to find out more.
