How to Make WASH Projects Sustainable and Successfully Disengage in Vulnerable Contexts

The research, undertaken during 2007, has learnt from previous and current approaches of the ACF-IN Missions, from communities, a wide range of sector actors and from desk based research, as to the factors which affect sustainability, the major challenges, and examples of good practice. The aim of the manual is to document the learning and to share good practice within the ACF International Network, and outside where appropriate, on responding to
sustainability in vulnerable contexts. The research has included four periods of field work in Lao PDR / Cambodia, Liberia, Northern Kenya and Colombia, selected to provide a range of contexts, challenges and examples of good practice.

Key findings of this research include that ACF-IN already commits within its Water & Environmental Sanitation Policy, 2006, to supporting communities to have sustainable interventions, and the programmes visited as part of the research were seen to already be making efforts towards this goal through activities such as the training of mechanics,
supporting water and sanitation committees, selecting simple technologies and in some cases providing back up support after the time the initial implementation ends. However more attention is still needed to the contributions which humanitarian actors can and should make to sustainability when working in vulnerable contexts. A repeated message from documented researches is the need to pay more attention to engaging and capacity building the local intermediate level actors to be able to provide back up support over the longer term. The reason why many of the projects become unsustainable is not because of technical issues but related to management, social relationships and community dynamics.