Global Water and Sanitation Initiative: a mid term review

The GWSI was developed in late 2004 to address chronic water and sanitation issues. It was designed to run for ten years from 2005-2015, and aimed to provide additional competencies and resources to the RC National Societies for planning and implementing this work. A number of criteria were drawn up as guidance, with the intention being to work with larger communities in more homogenous geographic areas than previously, to benefit from economies of scale thus ensuring better value for money, and via the direct engagement with the communities themselves to try and ensure sustainability and impact for the interventions.

This review has been undertaken at the mid-point of the ten year period of the Initiative with the aim of determining what has worked well and where lessons can be learned from the past, to inform and guide the programmes in the coming period. A number of staff of the IFRC as well as from a range of National Societies were interviewed, either in person, by phone or via email, and this report has brought together their feedback and comments. Some points for further discussion are presented and eight recommendations to consider for the second half of the implementation period are given.