Imagine…
a room full of people from all around the globe who are as passionate about providing clean water for others.
The IRCWash Symposium was exactly this and more. Because of the work being done in the Central African Republic, Water for Good was invited to lead one of the discussions at the conference in Hague, Netherlands. The overall goal was to encourage collaboration and partnerships to find a solution that sticks!
The attendees were focused on providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to 100 percent of the world’s population by 2030. It was encouraging to see many African government officials attending who are dedicated and committed to providing critical, life-saving services to their people.
WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT FRAGILE STATES?
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT BY 2030, HALF OF THE WORLD’S POOR WILL LIVE IN A FRAGILE STATE CONDITION.
In order to achieve universal access, we should not aim for a one-solution-fits-all, but instead address every situation, context or country individually. Strengthening the water system in Somalia is very different than in Ethiopia.
In many fragile states, formal leadership is absent, weak or disputed. Fragility is not static, nor uniform. Many countries go through cycles of insecurity or fragility, e.g. through a flare-up of hostilities or periods of drought/hunger gaps.
SO, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Based on the information we gathered and the connections we made through networking, we are more prepared to build a systems approach. We connected with a technology provider, Akvo, who will help us create a common platform for planning to locate water points, tracking progress and monitoring results.
