Summative Evaluation of the Enhanced and Accelerated WASH Programmes - Accelerated Programme Evaluation March 2015 to June 2019

UNICEF in Ghana supported implementation of the Accelerated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme from March 2015 to June 2019 in Ghana’s Northern region, where access to WASH-related services and related health outcomes are among the lowest in the country. At the start of the programme, only 68% of households and 37% of schools had access to improved water services in the Northern region. Additionally, open defecation was widely practiced (by 72% of the population). Subsequently, the Accelerated programme proposal identified three specific objectives: 1) to increase equitable access to suitable household and institutional sanitation facilities; 2) to facilitate the adoption of good hygiene practices for improved health; and 3) to increase capacity at the community, district and regional levels to support sanitation service delivery and engage the private sector in the sanitation market. The UNICEF Ghana Country Office commissioned Ipsos MORI, together with its partner FCG Sweden, to undertake an independent evaluation of the Accelerated WASH programme.

This evaluation has a double-fold purpose: accountability (to both donors and expected beneficiaries) and organisational learning (both amongst UNICEF staff and their governmental counterparts). With that in mind, the objectives of this evaluation are to determine the extent and quality of the programme’s achievements as well as to identify the lessons learned and put forward key recommendations to the evaluation key users to support future programming, including: government at all levels. UNICEF’s Ghana country office, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), project implementing partners, and the WASH sector in general (including other donors and international organisations, civil society, and the private sector).