1. WASH Enabling Environment Sector Policy and Strategy

2. Outline
Learning Objectives
Purpose
Context
Activities
Group Work
WASH EE Support process
UNICEF Support
Scoring

3. By the end of this session you will be able to
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to
Explain the importance of policy and strategy development to support the WASH EE
Describe the framework for supporting policy and strategy development efforts
Identify actions and steps to strengthen policy making and strategy development in support of WASH EE
By the end of this session participants will:
Understand the concepts and elements of policymaking
Have a working knowledge of principles for policy making
Be familiar with the different components of policy making
Have an understanding of how to apply concepts of policy making to strengthening WASH enabling environment

4. Purpose
Ask Participants…..
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF (i) POLICY and (STRATEGY)?
Policy: Set of procedures, rules and allocation mechanisms that:
provide basis for programs and services;
set priorities
provide the framework for resource allocation.
Strategy: A plan of action designed to achieve a major WASH objective in alignment with a country’s development needs
WHAT IS UNICEF’s engagement in Policy and Strategy for WASH?
UNICEF can use its convening power to influence policy/strategy to address universal access, equity, and safely managed WASH services

5. Context: WASH EE Framework
Ask participants:
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF BUDGETING AND FINANCING?
Financial flows are adequate and predictable and meet national targets.
The WASH sector is able to attract different sources of funding.
WHAT INDICATORS CAN BE USED TO MEASURE BUDGETING AND FINANCING?
Budgeting
Budgetary allocations include enough funds to support to the delivery of services.
Budgetary allocations include enough funds to cover capital expenditures to meet national water sector investment targets.
The budget is adequate and disaggregated between each of the subsectors (rural, urban, water, sanitation).
The budget and expenditure are publicly available.
Financing
Financial flows are predictable.
Financial needs for sector operations are known
Amount of funding available from taxes, tariffs and transfers to fund sectoral operations are known
Existence of legal and institutional frameworks for financial transactions to take place;
Public allocations to water and sanitation as % GDP
Existence of financing institutions

6. Context: WASH EE Theory of Change
NOTE TO FACILITATOR:
If this slide is not readable on the screen, please make sure you have hard copies of this slide ready and available for participants.
Ask participants:
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF POLICY AND STRATEGY?
WASH policy for households and institutions backed by a legal framework includes national service norms and addresses social norms, equity and future adaptation requirements. This policy has been approved by cabinet and is used by stakeholders.
WHAT INDICATORS CAN BE USED TO MEASURE POLICY AND STRATEGY?
The policy is informed by evidence (includes data, approaches with realistic budget)
Lead ministries have clear roles and responsibilities for HH sanitation and WASH in institutions and developed mechanisms for accountability.
Sanitation services include elimination of open defecation through safely managed sanitation services.

7. Activities
Share WASH best practices and lessons from other countries
Create debate about WASH policy making & strategy development by collecting evidence, holding stakeholder consultations, writing drafts of policy documents
Support policy & strategy documents based on country contexts, alignment with SDGs, experiences/best practices from other countries
Support policy & strategy dissemination/capacity building

8. Choose one country among participants
Group Work
Choose one country among participants
How has UNICEF influenced WASH policy and strategy in this country?
What elements were used?
What worked and why?
What could have been done better/differently?
How has this experience compared with other experiences in the group?
Have participants count off by 3s so you get three table groups.
Have each table group elect a note taker and a rapporteur.
Allow 10 minutes for the group to discuss the questions.
Allow each group 3 minutes to share some key elements from their discussion.

9. WASH EE Support Process
As we have seen, this graphic provides an overview of the steps in the WASH EE Support process.
The dotted circles represent the overlap of this process with the UNICEF program cycle.
National policies can serve as a key stimulus for local action, especially in countries that are decentralized
But if the policy is not promulgated at the state and local level, it has no teeth.
The Problem in Nigeria was getting all 36 states to develop and implement a WASH policy.
In a decentralized country, how will you promulgate national policy at the state and local level?
Policy frameworks will only have impact if accompanied by political commitment and leadership
The policy framework provides the instruments (guidance, positive incentives and penalties)

10. Support Process Step 1: Agree
Who are the stakeholders and what is required to enact a WASH policy in a country?
How is a privatized water supply different from public sector?
How is a big country different from a small country?
Answer to Question 1
Key Stakeholders:
Government: National, State, Local Governments
Donors
Private Sector/Water Boards, Utilities etc.
Civil Society/Implementers
Communities
Answer to Question 2: Ask participants
Answer to Question 3: Ask participants

11. Support Process Step 2: Assess
What do you need to assess when examining a water, sanitation or hygiene policy?
What levels of responsibilities are required of the different government actors in a decentralized environment?
Answers to Question 1:
Clear and coherent regulation
Clear definitions of functions & relationships of sector institutions
Coordination
Adequate funds
Accountability
Technical and financial capacity to manage water system
Answers to Question 2:
Federal government responsibilities
Planning
Regulation
Donor coordination
Allocating funds to states and LGAs
Research and training
States
Develop State water policy and laws
Establish water corporation
Fund recurring and capital expenses
LGAs
Rural water supply

12. Support Process Step 3: Plan
What steps are needed to develop a policy?
NOTE TO FACILITATOR:
If this slide is not readable on the screen, please make sure you have hard copies of this slide ready and available for participants.
STEPS
Identify the problem
Set sector goals and objectives and agree on achievable national and state targets
Draft the Policy
Review the Policy
Approve the Policy
Once the policy is approved, you need to develop legislation, guidelines and conduct strategic planning and advocacy to implement the policy

13. Support Process Step 4: Invest
How much financing is needed?
Where will this money come from?
How will the money be allocated?
What funding is needed to assure policy will be implemented?
Give direction to sector investments
Adopt and roll out water investment, mobilization, and application guidelines
Prepare investment plans to meet targets (by gov’t tiers)
Develop financing options
Allocate financial and organizational resources
Example from Nigeria
Water policy promotes participatory investment by three tiers of government (federal, state, local), the private sector and the beneficiary
Each state sets ups water corporation and funds recurring and capital expenditures
Resources are allocated irrespective of differing needs of states

14. Support Process Step 5: Implement
What actions must be taken to implement a policy and/or strategy?
Develop strategy for implementation
Develop capacity to implement
Agree on implementation models / service delivery approaches for all sub-sectors at national and sub-national levels
Specific examples for each sub-sector
urban water
Wean urban water utilities off state subsidies for O&M
Regular review of tariffs to recover of O&M costs
rural water
Establish Rural Water and Sanitation Agencies in states where needed
Limit roles to facilitation and capacity building of local government areas
Increase implementation pace of rural water and sanitation delivery framework; focus on community ownership and management
Urban sanitation and hygiene
Identify clear leader for sanitation service delivery in urban areas
Develop and implement appropriate sanitation approaches in peri-urban and low income communities
National and subnational levels
Prioritize sanitation, put in place policies, plans and budgets
Scale up implementation of community-led total sanitation and regularly review its contribution to improving access
Improve awareness through advocacy to mobilize public and private stakeholders on good sanitation and hygiene practices
Redefine the role of federal government as a regulator, facilitator and co-coordinator, rather than an implementer

15. Support Process Step 6: Monitor & Evaluate
What actions are required to monitor whether the policy has been implemented?
What have the effects of the policy been?
Is any revision needed? If so, how will this be addressed?
Implement framework for M&E
Conduct an Annual Sector Review for drinking water (and sanitation)
Prepare annual consolidated sector output
Collect data on coverage, functionality or performance of water utilities
Improve financial reporting to track investments

16. UNICEF’s engagement in WASH policy / strategy
Group Work
UNICEF’s engagement in WASH policy / strategy
Now that you have gone through the policy process, how should policy making be reflected in the UNICEF program cycle in your country?
Situation Analysis
Country Strategy
Country Program Document
Allow 10 minutes for the group reflection and a total of 5 minutes for sharing
Ask one table to share and the other two tables to complement

17. UNICEF Support Bangladesh Water Act Cambodia Rural WASH Strategy
Lao PDR National Plan of Action for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation & Hygiene
Zimbabwe National WASH Strategy
UNICEF Supported Policy Development in several countries.
Bangladesh Water Act: Provisions for integrated development, management, abstraction, distribution, use and conservation of water resources indicating that ‘right to potable water for hygiene and sanitation shall be treated as the highest priority right.’ Among its provisions, it includes the creation of a Water Resources Council formed of 12 ministries, water professionals, and NGOs; calls for the preparation of a National Water Resources Plan, sets regulations for the use of water resource development projects, and defines lowest safe yield level of aquifer and restrictions for the abstraction of ground water.
Cambodia, Rural WASH Strategy: It defines the water supply, sanitation and hygiene services to be made available to people living in rural areas, and the institutional arrangements and financial, human and other resources needed to provide these services. It confers responsibility for implementation of the strategy to the Ministry of Rural Development, under the guidance of a Technical Working Group for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, setting a 25-year development goal (vision) for the RWSS sector.
Lao PDR, National Plan of Action for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene. The National Plan of Action supports the realization of the resolution of the IX plenary of the Central Committee Congress, the resolution of the Ministry of Health’s VII Party Congress, as well as the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan, The government’s four breakthrough approaches focuses on new thinking, human resource development, improving management, governance regulations and systems, and poverty eradication. In addition the National Plan of Action will support implementation of 6 programs and priority targets of the VII Health Development Plan for 5 years and its realization with focus on 64 focus zones for integrated development. The National Plan of Action is designed to promote community ownership of water and sanitation provision, and to equip communities with the skills to operate and maintain these services in a sustainable manner. The National Plan of Action places great emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of the sustainability and access to and use of rural water sources and sanitation in terms of quality and quantity. The role of the National Plan of Action is to set objectives and identify ways to attain the millennium development goals by 2015 of which goal 7 – Environmental Sustainability include water and sanitation. The targets of 80% of population have access to water supplies and 60% to sanitation, will allow Lao PDR to graduate from Least Developed Country status by 2020.
Zimbabwe, National WASH Strategy: The objective of the Strategy was to provide a framework for improving and sustaining sanitation and hygiene service delivery for the country’s population, including elimination of open defecation (reducing OD from 33% to under 10% by 2015) and making significant progress towards the attainment of the sanitation MDG (increase total sanitation coverage to 60% by 2015). The strategy signified a shift from a supply-driven approach, with a strong emphasis on technologies, to a demand-management approach, with emphasis on behavior change and services responding to community and consumer demand.
Other examples:
Sri Lanka: UNICEF’s focus on expanding water safety compliance over all the elements of water supply, as defined by WHO, helped incorporating water catchments and river basins in the ongoing water safety plan implementation by water suppliers. It has resulted in a multi stakeholder mechanism and a strategy with the participation of more than 50 key stakeholders outside water supplier’s domain committing for water safety. The union of environmental and water supply sectors under this multi stakeholder approach was a key value addition under UNICEF support to the national objectives in this regard.
In India, UNICEF advisory work helped lead to a major government policy announcement making group handwashing with soap obligatory in the 1.2 million schools covered by the mid-day meals program

18. Scoring Country Indicator Notes Papua New Guinea
Rural & urban water, sanitation and hygiene policies exist, contain national service norms, equity and future adaptation requirements, approved by Cabinet and used by stakeholders
National WASH Policy approved by cabinet. Implementing policy started but very slow. National WASH Coordinator appointed to advance policy implementation.
Indonesia
A legal framework exists that includes the human right to sanitation and water and pro-poor and socially inclusive policies
Policies in place at national and many province levels BUT
No systematic mechanism to ensure local leaders enact these policies in local level regulations.
The Bappenas PPSP program engaging local mayors to promote enforcement
UNICEF supported this but more work needed to for all Districts to enact local level regulations
UNICEF sub-national advocacy is critical (UNICEF developed WASH advocacy kit to support process)
Here is an illustrative example of policy scoring from three different countries in the Asia Region. This is not a comprehensive look at all elements of policy making. They can replaced by examples from countries in region where this training will be implemented in the future.
NOTE TO FACILITATOR:
If this slide is not readable on the screen, please make sure you have hard copies of this slide ready and available for participants.
Vietnam
A legal framework exists and includes sanitation and water and pro-poor and socially inclusive policies as human right
Sanitation and water supply generally recognized as human rights. Recent ethnic minority development plan makes exclusive commitments to WASH agenda
Weak/ Gaps
Moderate Progress
Good Progress

19. For more information, please contact
David Tsetse, Ph.D.
WASH Specialist, Planning Monitoring and Capacity Building Programme Division
Tel:
© United Nations Children’s Fund
June 2016
Cover photo © UNICEF