Summary of Study Session 8

In Study Session 8, you have learned that:

1. There are several cross-cutting issues in WASH that affect all aspects of WASH projects and which have not always been given sufficient attention in the past. They require the attention of all stakeholders at different levels and need to be considered from the earliest planning phases onwards – not just sometime in the middle or at the end.
2. Major cross-cutting issues include gender mainstreaming, community empowerment, sustainability, equity and inclusion, and social accountability.
3. Women and girls are usually responsible for water collection in Ethiopian households but their opinions and needs are not always given due attention. Legislation and policy have recognised the need for gender equity and mainstreaming for some time, but for many social and cultural reasons women’s voices are not always heard.
4. As the ultimate beneficiaries of WASH projects, communities need to be empowered to participate fully in planning and implementation of WASH services. This will give the community a sense of ownership that will support the long-term sustainability of the schemes.
5. Sustainability of WASH interventions is critical and has frequently been neglected in the past. Many hand pumps and other schemes no longer function for various interconnected reasons. For a scheme to be sustainable there needs to be a demand from users, sufficient income, effective management and maintenance, technical support and a realistic awareness of the local environment.
6. WASH services need to be equitable and include all types of marginalised and vulnerable people with often widely differing needs.
7. Social accountability is a responsibility of WASH service providers who must be accountable to user communities.