Colombia: testing innovative models for rural water and sanitation services
Photo: IRC
NGO «Give to Colombia» will implement several pilot projects that will serve as models for the Rural Water Supply and Wastewater Management Program in Colombia. This large-scale programme is financed with the help of a US$ 60 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The pilot projects have four components:
- School water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (SWASH), which will implement and evaluate UNICEF’s model for SWASH interventions in at least 25 rural public schools
- Post-construction support and the sustainability of rural water projects with a focus on innovative financial models
- Sustainable models for the financing and provision of household connections
- Sustainable self-supply models for disperse rural communities
The AquaFund and Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction are financing the pilot projects. Contributors to the Aquafund are IDB, the governments of Switzerland and Austria, and the PepsiCo Foundation.
The pilot projects will cost about US$ 2.1 million. The implementing agency Give to Colombia (G2C) receives resources from the Embassy of Japan and the General Electric Foundation. PepsiCo Colombia is supporting the dissemination of the innovative models being developed in the projects.
In 2011, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and CINARA carried out a study on behalf of IDB, about post-construction support on rural water supply services in Colombia [1]. The study [2] shows that those service providers that receive more structured support perform better.
[1] IADB publishes report on post-construction support on rural water supply services in Colombia, IRC, 21 Aug 2012 ; Webinar – Impacts of post-construction support on the performance of rural water supply in Colombia, IRC,
[2] Smits, S. et al., 2012. Gobernanza y sostenibilidad de los sistemas de agua potable y saneamiento rurales en Colombia. (Monografia; IDB-MG-133). [online] Washington, DC, USA: Inter-American Development Bank. Available at: <http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=36986189>
Related websites:
- IDB – Rural Water Supply and Wastewater Management Program (CO-L1105)
- IDB – AquaFund
- Give to Colombia (G2C)
- IRC – Triple-S/Water services that last – Colombia
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune, 10 Oct 2012 ; IDB, 02 Oct 2012
En el Plan de Negocios 2012 – 2016 se destaca una serie de actividades del IRC, conclusiones y opiniones: sin balas de plata
El IRC considera que los principales desafíos del sector de WASH son sistémicos, es decir, se refieren a las interacciones complejas entre las personas, las organizaciones, las tecnologías y los enfoques que intervienen en la prestación de servicios. En este trabajo no se encuentran soluciones rápidas, que se ajusten a todos los problemas, no hay un arquetipo ni tampoco una solución mágica.
Fortalecimiento de la cultura de aprendizaje del BRAC
El programa implementado por el Comité del Progreso Rural de Bangladesh (BRAC – siglas en inglés) es uno de los programas de más larga duración hasta ahora implementados por una ONG en un país asiático. El programa ha facilitado el acceso a los servicios de saneamiento para unas 20 millones de personas y promueve comportamientos seguros entre otros 37 millones. El IRC estuvo involucrado a través de todo el proceso, primero por medio de la elaboración conjunta de la propuesta, y posteriormente en el desarrollo de capacidades del personal directivo durante la fase de implementación.
Cinara e IRC participan en estudio sobre gobernabilidad y sostenibilidad en sistemas de agua y saneamiento
El Instituto Cinara de la Universidad del Valle y el International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) de los Países Bajos realizan un nuevo proyecto de manera conjunta, auspiciado por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID). Se trata del Estudio sobre la gobernabilidad y sostenibilidad de los sistemas de agua potable y saneamiento rurales en Colombia”. El estudio se realizará en los departamentos del Valle del Cauca y Caldas, entre los meses de agosto y diciembre de 2011.
El propósito es el de contribuir en el desarrollo de modelos de apoyo a la sostenibilidad de los servicios de agua en zonas rurales, y específicamente estudiar cómo estos modelos inciden en el desempeño de los prestadores, y en el logro de mejores indicadores de sostenibilidad de dichos servicios.
Brazil, Sao Paulo: participatory sanitation project wins Mario Covas Award 2009
On April 8, 2009, the Project «Environmental Rehabilitation of Vila Machado: shared territorial management linked to Action Monitoring for Effectiveness» received the ‘Mario Covas Award 2009’ under the category Innovation on Public Management. The project, coordinated by the São Paulo State Basic Sanitation Company SABESP in a partnership with the Post-Graduate Programme on Environmental Science of the University of São Paulo PROCAM, uses an adaptation of Action Monitoring for Effectiveness (aMe) to involve city dwellers in the implementation of improvements on sanitation in a peri-urban community. An earlier development of IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre by Katheleen Shordt, aMe was considered an innovative element of public action. Maria Lucia G. Borba, a former IRC staff member and now with PROCAM, is collaborating with SABESP in this project.
The Mario Covas Award was created in 2004 as an effort by the São Paulo State Government to continuously search for the modernization of administrative action through its Secretariats and other governmental institutions. In 2009, of 184 public initiatives featuring projects being implemented in the state of São Paulo which were received by the organizers of this important event, 15 received the Award under two categories: Excellence on Public Management and Innovation on Public Management. For more information on the 2009 Award (only in Portuguese) see here and here.
For more information on the project contact Maria Lucia G. Borba, maluborba [at] yahoo.com
Prize winners: from left Márcia Alice Alves – SABESP, Carlos Roberto Dardis – SABESP, Maria Lucia G. Borba – PROCAM/USP and Dilmara Veríssimo de Souza – SABESP.
Noticias sobre WASH para América Latina 