UNICEF's Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (2016-2030)
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Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2016–2030 Programme Division UNICEF New York August 2016 Photo credits: Cover: ©UNICEF/UNI165987/Noorani | Preface: ©UNICEF/UNI48757/Estey | Page v: ©UNICEF/UNI136039/Dean | Page vi: ©UNICEF/UNI192021/Asselin | Page x: ©UNICEF/UNI116083/Page | Page 5: ©UNICEF/UN017153/ Shrestha | Page 7: ©UNICEF/UNI107220/Dormino | Page 8: ©UNICEF/UNI48758/Estey | Page 19: ©UNICEF/ UNI183555/Khuzaie | Page 21: ©UNICEF/UNI150695/Asselin | Page 34: ©UNICEF/UNI169769/El Baba | Page 36: ©UNICEF/UNI189335/Gilbertson VII Photo | Page 42: ©UNICEF/UNI61870/Noorani | Page 45: ©UNICEF/UNI106376/Pirozzi Design and Layout by Roberto Rossi ([email protected]) Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2016–2030 Preface Children need WASH – water, sanitation and We will maintain our focus on helping every child hygiene – to survive and thrive. This is true in gain access to drinking water, sanitation and times of stability and crisis, in urban and rural hygiene, including in schools and health centres, communities, and in every country around the and in humanitarian situations when children are world. WASH is important in its own right, and is most vulnerable. The Strategy signals increased also necessary for health, nutrition, education and engagement in “newer” areas such as adapting other outcomes for children. Girls and women are to climate change; services in small towns and particularly affected by poor WASH, as are people informal settlements (urban); and engaging the living with disabilities. private sector as a key partner beyond their traditional role of providing goods and services. It A great deal has been achieved over the past 25 shows how WASH can contribute to key outcomes years towards the Millennium Development Goals across the life course of a child, and how education (MDGs). Billions have gained access to water and and health systems can help deliver wider public sanitation, and hygiene practices are improving. health outcomes in WASH. But much remains to be done. In 2016 one billion people still practice open defecation and over 600 UNICEF will support governments to ensure every million do not have access to even a basic level of child has at least a basic level of service while drinking water. And there are new and emerging addressing inequalities and quality issues that are challenges that require us to change the way we important to sustain the gains that have been work. It is the poorest who are most often denied made over the past 20 years. The SDG targets for access: more and more of the world’s poor live water, sanitation and hygiene present a significant in urban slums, and climate change threatens challenge over the coming 15 years. The SDGs water resources. The Sustainable Development move well beyond the MDG targets and aim for Goals (SDGs) set an ambitious vision to achieve universal coverage. The SDGs also set a higher level universal access to “safely managed” water and of ambition, described as “safely managed” water and sanitation (including hygiene): defining a higher sanitation, whilst emphasizing the need to address level of service, whilst prioritising the poorest and inequalities. In response to this, the Strategy provides most vulnerable. a set of criteria – the Core Accountabilities – that commit us to act where children do not even have The purpose of this new Strategy for WASH is to a basic level of service. The Strategy also provides guide UNICEF’s organization-wide contribution guidance on what types of interventions should be to achieving SDG 6: Ensure access to water and applied in different contexts. sanitation for all by 2030. It is designed to inform and support UNICEF’s core planning and strategy The Strategy was informed by a review of UNICEF’s processes, and to guide the implementation of WASH evaluations over the last ten years, a review our programmes. It defines the principles to be of the evidence on WASH and children, and an applied to all our work and a menu of approaches extensive consultative process involving over 500 and results areas to be tailored to each country’s UNICEF staff and external partners. With this new context, with links to guidance documents that tool to guide us, we look forward to working with provide further detail on implementation. all partners on the global agenda of WASH for all. UNICEF’s Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (2016-2030) i UNICEF’s Strategy for WASH (2016-2030): A Snapshot Continue Move in new learning and Do better directions adapting Water Enabling environment Climate resilient safety, sustainability and strengthen capacity and systems to enable all WASH access actors to contribute effectively a framework for Sanitation risk-informed Accountability programming social norms, access and support transparency, monitoring and people’s sustainability participation as anchors of good governance Urban Hygiene Working inter-sectorally reaching the most more focus, supporting WASH as a contribution to education, health, vulnerable, wherever others to promote nutrition and other outcomes, including they are behavior change WASH in institutions, gender and disability Private sector Humanitarian Leverage resources for WASH goods and services delivering service, breaking public and private financing for scaled-up, as well as broader silos, national coordination sustainable programmes contribution ii UNICEF’s Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (2016-2030) Executive Summary The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable As of 2016, sanitation coverage is low in Development offers a historic opportunity many countries and 946 million people to set a new course for the next era are still engaged in the practice of open of global human development – one defecation. Gains in water supply coverage that promises transformational change are unevenly spread; water quality is not for children and their families. Water, assured; water scarcity is a growing problem; sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is at the and the sustainability of systems continues centre of this ambitious new agenda to pose challenges. The destructive impacts – with a distinct sector goal (SDG 6) of climate change and emergencies are an that envisions universal, sustainable, and increasing threat to water and sanitation equitable access to safe drinking water, systems, and are contributing to disparities sanitation and hygiene, as well as the in access. Vulnerable groups – including elimination of open defecation by 2030. isolated communities, poor households, WASH also contributes to numerous other people with disabilities, and in particular goals, including those relating to nutrition, women and girls – bear the brunt of health, education, poverty and economic inadequate WASH services. growth, urban services, gender equality, UNICEF’s vision for WASH is the resilience and climate change. realization of the human rights to The human rights to water and sanitation water and sanitation for all. This Strategy are at the core of the UNICEF mandate will help fulfil this vision and contribute for children. Not only are poor hygiene, to global efforts to meet the water and open defecation, and lack of access to safe sanitation Sustainable Development Goal water and sanitation systems leading causes – SDG6 – and the broader SDG agenda, of child mortality and morbidity, they also targeting priority interventions for children. contribute to undernutrition and stunting, UNICEF will focus on water, sanitation and and act as barriers to education for girls hygiene in households and institutions, and to economic opportunity for the poor. with two overarching objectives, which WASH is essential in health care facilities, align with the first two SDG 6 targets: schools and early childhood development 1. By 2030, achieve universal and equitable centres, but equally, these institutions offer access to safe and affordable drinking platforms for engaging children in actions water for all; that promote behaviour change related to hygiene, sanitation and water. 2. By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all The SDGs set a high bar of “safely and end open defecation, paying special managed” water and sanitation services attention to the needs of women and girls and yet for many the right to even a and those in vulnerable situations. basic level of access remains unmet. UNICEF’s Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (2016-2030) iii Executive Summary UNICEF’s core accountability will be to recognizing that these are key act where children do not have even pre-requisites for the long-term a basic level of service. We will also sustainability of WASH services. address the more ambitious goal of “safely UNICEF will focus on supporting poor managed” services embedded in SDG 6, as people to claim their rights, to help that is critical to addressing inequalities and government become more responsive sustaining the gains that have been made to the voices of the marginalized, and to over the past 20 years. build government’s capacity to create the enabling environment for service delivery. The balance between interventions focusing on a basic level of service and UNICEF programming will also continue on moving people up the ladder towards to deliver services and supplies in the safely managed services will be informed following contexts: (i) in times of crisis for by the specific situation. This Strategy humanitarian response; (ii) for modelling provides guidance on which approaches innovative solutions; and (iii) for reaching could be used in different