Giving Compass' Take:

•  The Disease Control Priorities project is now in its third edition and covers sanitation services that are working effectively, ones that are not, and what is cost-effective for everyone involved. 

• How can other philanthropists support evidence-based programs and collaborate to strengthen sector commitment to WASH initiatives? 

• Learn about how microfinance is being incorporated into the water and sanitation sector. 

This week, we share 7 lessons learned from the Disease Control Priorities project to highlight the importance of improved knowledge management for achieving universal access to water and sanitation.

It is vital that we better manage our knowledge, to make better use of it for delivering universal access to water and sanitation.

  • The transition from MDGs to SDGs has not been an easy one: The goalposts have shifted for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) with significantly more ambitious targets whose end date is only 12 years away.
  • But there are many reasons to be hopeful: We can find encouragement in the achievements of countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Chile who are nearing universal WASH coverage, Singapore’s steps towards closing the water cycle, India’s commitment at the highest political levels to end open defecation by 2019, and more.
  • Disaggregated data are key: we need to understand heterogeneity: The quality of WASH facilities varies widely between the poor and non-poor, and between the urban and rural areas in many countries.
  • Multi-sectoral approaches are key, requiring coordination and convergence: Access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene behaviors underlie early child nutrition and development, helping to fortify human capital and economic growth.
  • We need greater finesse in our behavior change approaches given context specific attitudes, practices, social and cultural influences: Behavior change is rarely achieved through conventional methods, nor is it easily transferable.
  • Financing needs to be ‘smart’ and better targeted to the needy: Many WASH interventions, such as water filters, piped water, boreholes, and private latrines, are cost-effective but don’t always reach the extreme poor.
  • We need methodologies and tools to allow regular updating of sector knowledge, rather than one-off studies: Traditionally, research syntheses such as literature reviews and meta-analyses have provided the latest view on key topics.

Read the full article about better knowledge leads to better sanitation by  Guy Hutton and Claire Chase at WASHfunders