The Water and Sanitation Program - Environmental Health at USAID

DRAFTo At the utility level, sanitation services management information systems in theareas of operation, commercial/customers (billing and collection), andinvestment/construction/ procurement;o Benchmarking efforts across utilities, that can be used by utilities to compare theirperformance in sewerage systems, by regulators to follow progress onperformance and compliance; and by community groups to have data that canhelp in client voice and power processes;o Sector information systems that compile data from various utilities and agencies,as well as household solutions to provide an integrated view of the status of thesanitation sector, its gaps and results;o Outcome-based systems that will measure not only the number of sanitationsolutions, but also their use and effectiveness (particularly in processes thatsupport total sanitation campaigns and related outcome-based rewards programs);o Impact-based systems that will monitor the improvements in health, social andeconomic indicators associated with changes in sanitation conditions;In all the above systems, WSP will work with counterpart countries to ensure that M&Eis not done as an objective in itself, but rather:o Supports budget decision making, planning and policy making;o Helps agencies manage activities at the sector, program and project level; ando Enhances transparency and support accountability relationshipsThree important dimensions of successful M&E systems are: (i) the utilization of theM&E information; (ii) the good quality of the data as well as analyses based on that data;and (iii) the sustainability and evolution of the M&E system. These factors are linked torelations among stakeholders and incentives to provide, check, utilize and improve thedata• Cross-Sectoral Linkages. Sanitation has fundamental connections with other sectors thatwill be explored and supported by WSP as part of its seventh key area in the strategicmedium-term framework. The most important ones are:o Gender dimensions of sanitation, along two lines: (i) critical impacts as opendefecation forces women to compromise their modesty and face danger of rape oranimal attack as most women will only relieve themselves after dark; and girlswill miss school or eventually stop attending when they start menstruating whenseparate and adequate sanitation facilities are not available in schools; and (ii) thevoice of women in the design and implementation of sanitation programs iscritical for their effectiveness.o Environment and water resources management are two critical dimensions of theimpacts of inadequate sanitation, though in many cases the investments inwastewater treatment are ineffective as the plants are not operational or if theyare, the design standards are excessive or not effective given the existence ofnumerous polluting sources of greater importance in the river basins.o Urban planning is fundamental for the cost-effective design and implementationof sewerage and sanitation investment programs in rapidly growing cities. Land24