Internaonal development isn’t rocket science · 2017-06-20 · Internaonal development isn’t rocket science: reflec%ons from four decades in water and sanitaon Richard Carter

Interna'onaldevelopmentisn’trocketscience:

reflec%onsfromfourdecadesinwaterandsanita%on

RichardCarterwww.richard-carter.org

UniversityofCalgary19June2017

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A6erall…

InmostplacesthereissufficientwaterforbasichouseholdusesWehavetechnologiesfor•  watersourceengineering,watertreatment,pumpinganddistribu%on

•  sanita'on:containment,treatmentandsafedisposalofhumanexcreta

•  goodhygieneprac%ces2

Furthermore…

wehaveagoodunderstandingofthemanagementandfinancingapproacheswhichareneededfor•  monitoringandmanagingwaterresources•  managingruralandurbanwaterandsanita'onservices

•  cos'ngandpricingnewdevelopmentsandcon%nuingservices

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Water,sanita'onandhygiene(WASH)Thejourneysofar…1980s–theUnitedNa%onsInterna%onalDrinkingWaterSupplyandSanita%onDecade1990s–SafeWater20002005-2015–Seconddecade“Waterforlife”2000-2015–theMillenniumDevelopmentGoals2015-2030–theSustainableDevelopmentGoals

1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Servicesforall Halvethegap Servicesforall

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Fourdecadesof(slow)progressindevelopingcountries*1980(pop3.2bn*)Water43%servedSanita'on46%served

1990 2015

91%

76%

W

1990 2015

68%

54%

S

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1990(pop4.0bn*)Water75%servedSanita'on56%served

PercentagesinboxesarefromDecadeEvalua%on,WHO,1991.PercentagesingraphicsarefromJMP,2015Update.

664million-

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

Lowerlines:popula%onwithoutadequatesanita%on(red)andwithoutsafewater(blue)

Popula'ons'llnotserved

Upperlines:globalpopula%onandpopula%onofless-developedcountries

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“Served”/“havingaccess”towater"Improved"sourcesofdrinking-water:•  Pipedwaterintodwelling•  Pipedwatertoyard/plot•  Publictaporstandpipe•  Tubewellorborehole•  Protecteddugwell•  Protectedspring•  Rainwater

"Unimproved"sourcesofdrinking-water:•  Unprotectedspring•  Unprotecteddugwell•  Cartwithsmalltank/drum•  Tanker-truck•  Surfacewater•  Bodledwater

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“Served”/“havingaccess”tosanita'on"Improved"sanita'on:•  Flushtoilet•  Pipedsewersystem•  Sep%ctank•  Flush/pourflushtopitlatrine•  Ven%latedimprovedpitlatrine(VIP)•  Pitlatrinewithslab•  Compos%ngtoilet"Unimproved"sanita'on:•  Flush/pourflushtoelsewhere•  Pitlatrinewithoutslab•  Bucket•  Hangingtoiletorhanginglatrine•  Sharedsanita%on•  Nofacili%esorbushorfield

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Someoftheassump'ons…•  Animprovedwatersupplysourceoffersadequatewaterqualityprotec%on

•  Animprovedsanita%onfacilitysafelycontainshumanwaste,removingitfromtheenvironment

•  Improvedtechnologiesofferreliableservices

•  Thosewithimprovedfacili%esusethemconsistently

Generally,improvedwatersourcesrankhigherintermsofmicrobiologicalwaterquality(TTCcounts),buteventhebestsourcesarenoten%relysafeallthe%mebasedonthismeasureofrisk.

9HavinganimprovedfacilityisaproxyforusingandbenefiZngfromanadequateservice

(Someof)thebadnews…•  35%ofhandpumpsmaybe“down”atanyone%me

(RWSN,2012)

•  many“improved”watersourcesarenotfullysafe(Bainetal,2014)

•  “slippage”fromopen-defeca%on-freestatusiscommon(WSSCC,2016)

•  “everyday… severalhundredthousandtonsoffaecalma2erfromeitheropendefaeca5onorcollectedfromon-sitesanita5oninstalla5ons… aredisposedofintotheurbanandperi-urbanenvironment”(StraussandMontangero,nd)

•  achievingandsustainingsignificantlevelsofhygienebehaviourchangerequiressystema%candsustainedinterven%ons(Schordt,2003)

•  manyna%onalGovernmentsfailtoallocateasufficientpropor%onoftheirna%onalbudgetstoWASH(GLAAS,2010)

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Notrocketscience…

…butinmanywaysmuchharder.We’redealingnotonlywiththewell-behavedandpredictablephysicalworld,butalsowiththelesswellunderstood,lesspredictableworldsofhumanbehaviourinitsindividual,social,organisa%onal,economicandpoli%caldimensionsKennedy1961,Armstrong1969…andevenrocketscienceletsusdownsome%mes

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Whydoes(WASH)developmentposesuchintractablechallenges?

Users/consumers/beneficiariesofservicesculture,knowledge,altudes,demandandwillingnesstoalterbehavioursandprac%ces

Decision-makerscompetence,commitment,leadershipand

trustworthinessofGovernmentsanddonors

Providersofservicesresources,exper%se,professionalismand

competenceofpublicsector,privatesectorandcivilsocietyorganisa%ons

“Voicesofthepoor:cananyonehearus?”

“Theshortrouteofaccountability”

“Withouttheresponsibleuseofpower,howcanwedeliver?”

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“Beneficiaries”–nottobetakenforgranted

WesternKenya(free-of-charge)chlorinedispensersatpointofwatercollec%onBiggestchallenges?•  smellandtasteofchlorine•  associa%onofhealth-linkedinnova%onswithsuspicionsthatsomeformoffamilyplanningisbeingfoisted

•  somebreakagesat%mesofcircumcisionceremonies

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“Beneficiaries”–ac'veagentsanddecision-makersTheexampleofcommunityhealthclubs–asystema%capproachforempoweringhouseholdsPrinciples:

–  educa%onisanecessary(butnotsufficient)requirementforchange–  belonging,membership,peer-solidarityandrecogni%onhavehighvalue–  householdlevelchangeisnotonlypossiblebutdemonstrable

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000 MasvingoDistrict,Zimbabwe,bluebarsbaseline,redbarsendline[n=1870households]

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Assumenothing……abouthow“beneficiaries”willrespond……andneverassumethat“thepoor”aremerelyhelplessandinneedof“aid”

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Serviceauthori'esandprovidersThoseen%%eswiththemandatetoprovidewaterandsanita%onservices:localGovernmentswithprivatesector,NGOsandcommunity-basedorganisa%ons•  oqendescribedas“weak”•  perceivedashaving“lowcapacity”

•  usuallyseriouslyunder-resourced

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…andyet……somelocalGovernmentsandsomeoftheirmandatedserviceprovidersaresucceedingagainsttheodds

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Assumenothing……aboutthecapacityoflocalorganisa%ons……andneverassumethattheyarehelpless

withoutexternalaid18

Sufficient(quan%ty)

Acceptable(quality)

Reliable Manageable

Affordable

Accessible

Func%onal

Pleasant(nosmellsor

flies)

Private(dignified,safe)

Whatdoserviceuserswant?

Watersupply Sanita'on

Power,poli'calwillandgovernanceTheholdingofpoli'calofficeisrarelyaboutpublicservicePolicy,priority-selngandbudgetalloca%onsarerarelyevidence-basedGovernance:“(how)authorityinacountryisexercised… theprocessbywhichgovernmentsareselected,monitoredandreplaced;thecapacityofthegovernmenttoeffec5velyformulateandimplementsoundpolicies;andtherespectofci5zensandthestatefortheins5tu5onsthatgoverneconomicandsocialinterac5onsamongthem”[WorldBank]Worldwidegovernanceindicators:•  VoiceandAccountability•  Poli%calStabilityandAbsenceof

Violence•  GovernmentEffec%veness•  RegulatoryQuality•  RuleofLaw•  ControlofCorrup%on

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hdp://info.worldbank.org/governance/WGI/#reports

ImpressiveprogressinWASHinEthiopia,Rwanda,SenegalandSouthAfrica[hdp://dai-global-developments.com/ar%cles/doubling-access-to-safe-drinking-water-how-four-african-countries-did-it-and-how-others-can-too/]

Access(%)1990 2015

EthiopiaWater 13 57

Sanita%on 3 28Rwanda

Water 58 76Sanita%on 33 62

SenegalWater 60 79

Sanita%on 36 48SouthAfrica

Water 83 93Sanita%on 51 66

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SowhatamIsaying?

Userbehaviour,organisa%onalcapacityandresources,andpoli%calwillposemajorchallenges……buttherearesomeshininglightsandsignsofprogress.Whenrealdemandfromwaterandsanita%onusers,increasedcapacityandresourcesamongserviceproviders,andcommidedleadershipfromthetopcoincide,muchispossible.[…butgoodgovernancemaynotbeagoodpredictorofprogress…]

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Threeparadigmshi6s

1.  Fromtapsandtoiletstowaterandsanita%onservices[technology,management,finance,enablingenvironmentandaccountabilityjoininghands]

2.  Reliabilityandpredictabilityofinvestment[withanappropriatebalancebetweencapitalandrecurrent]

3.  Recogni%onthatuserscannotpaythefullcosts[implica%onsforsubsidies;implica%onsfordonors]

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Numerousactors,butwho’sthedirector?

Na%onalandlocalGovernments,donorsandlenders,UNagencies,interna%onalandna%onalNGOs,privatesector,academicandresearchpartners…Whois,orshouldbe,incharge?

StevenSpielberg25

MichaelDowseUCalgaryAlumnus,

FilmDirector

ParisprinciplesGloballyagreedprinciplesareveryclear–Na%onalGovernmentsareinchargeCommitmentsto•  ownership(byna%onalGovernments)•  alignment(bydonors)•  harmonisa%on(bydonors)•  managingforresults(Governmentsanddonors)•  mutualaccountability(both)

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Reali'es•  WeaknessesinGovernmentleadershipandsystems,andthepoli%csofinterna%onalaidmaketheseprincipleschallengingtofollow

•  Manyorganisa%ons(NGOsespecially)workroundratherthaninsupportofGovernmentleadership,andpromotethemselves

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Whatshould“we”do?

Weforeignersandoutsiders,well-meaning,well-educated,wewho“…areresolvedtofreethehumanracefromthetyrannyofpovertyand[who]wantandtohealandsecureourplanet.We[who]aredeterminedtotaketheboldandtransforma5vestepswhichareurgentlyneededtoshiLtheworldontoasustainableandresilientpath.… we[who]pledgethatnoonewillbeleLbehind”…?[UnitedNa%onsTransformingourworld:the2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment]

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Do•  Workascloselyaspossible

under,throughandwithna%onalandlocalGovernment

•  Collaborateandharmonise•  Generatedeepmutual

understandingofuserbehaviours,serviceproviderconstraintsandpoli%caleconomy

•  Promotedemandforservicesandpublicandprivatesectoraccountability

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beunrealis'callydemandingaboutimpactsandevidenceThesome%messorrytaleofrandomizedcontrolledtrials(RCTs)…RCTsasthe“goldstandard”ofevidence–adeeplyflawedno%onThedisconnect(some%mes)betweenRCTresearchandimplementa%onHowRCTscaninterferewithimplementa%oneffec%veness,orfailtorecogniseitsconstraints

Don’t

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DoyouknowaboutanyRCTsthatprovideevidencethatweshoulduseRCTs?[withacknowledgmenttoChrisLysy,freshspectrum.com]

Anddon’tjustdothe(rela'vely)easybits•  thescienceandengineering(therocketscience)•  thecapitalinvestments(theeasymoney)

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Finalthoughts:insightsfromcomplexitytheoryComplexity:“thestateorqualityofbeingintricateorcomplicated”(OxfordEnglishDic%onary)

Complexsystems:•  Systems,withsub-systemsatmul%plescales

•  Complexinterac%onsandfeedbacks•  Inherentlyunpredictableoutcomesofinterac%ons

•  Apparentlysimplerulesofengagementatonelevelmayleadtounexpectedemergentresultsathigherlevels

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Andso…Ac%ngaccordingtosimplis%cmodelsofdevelopmentinterven%onsisincreasinglyrecognisedasinappropriate

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Instead,ar%culateallassump&onsinordertoplan;act(experiment);measure;learnandadapt,modifynextsetofac%ons–behumbleandalwayslearning!

Manythanksforlistening!

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