Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal, Completion Phase (RWSSP-WN II)

Rural water supply and sanitation in western Nepal. The focus was on ensuring water supply to the unreached, full sanitation coverage and capacity building for sustainability. The project was embedded in local government structures and working with national campaigns for sanitation and water for all. It also ensured a Human Rights Based Approach is applied, and attention was given to ensure gender and social inclusion, as well as considering issues such as climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and green economy.

The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal, Completion Phase (RWSSPWN II) was a bilateral WASH project supported by the Government of Nepal (GoN) and the Government of Finland (GoF). RWSSP-WN was implemented through the decentralized governance system following the rules and regulations of the Government of Nepal. During the Completion Phase of RWSSP-WN the Finnish support for the WASH sector in the project area was phased out.

The focus of activities was on people who had never had access to water supply investments, capacity building aiming to better quality and sustainability and controlled phasing out. The role of the Technical Assistance (TA) team was to support the executing agencies in the implementation of the programme. TA was directed at all three result areas of the programme:

• Open Defecation Free (ODF) sustained at individual, household and public level;
• well-functioning water schemes managed by inclusive WUSCs addressing equitability and providing safe domestic water to all users; and
• strengthened institutional capacity of government bodies to plan, coordinate, support and monitor the Water Users’ and Sanitation Committees (WUSC) and other community groups in the implementation, operation and maintenance of domestic water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in a self-sustainable manner.

The overall Objective: Improved health, socio-economic status and fulfilment of the equal right to water and sanitation for the inhabitants of the project area.

The project Purpose: The poorest and excluded households’ rights to access to safe and sustainable domestic water, good health and hygiene ensured through decentralized governance system in Project VDCs

Project Components:

Component 1) Sanitation and Hygiene

Component 2) Rural Water Supply

Component 3) Capacity Development

The project was embedded in local government structures and working with national campaigns for sanitation and water for all. The project idea was to develop water supply, sanitation and hygiene in a coordinated manner on the basis of comprehensive village and district WASH Plans, prepared for selected priority VDCs and districts. Government staff participated in structured capacity building processes (including rolling training for local government accountants). The project reported through the Red Book (national financial reporting) – 'on budget, off Treasury'. Decision making took place at district level (and later municipalities) via joint annual plans. It also ensured a Human Rights Based Approach was applied, and attention was given to ensure gender and social inclusion, as well as considering issues such as climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and green economy.

The GESI strategy & action plan had components & specific interventions that were applied at every step of the project & related monitoring, evaluation & reporting practices. It ensured that the voices of women & disadvantaged groups (lower castes, different ethnic groups, disabled and elderly, etc.) were heard at all stages, including the planning phase when the layout of the water supply scheme is being prepared & the location of facilities such as tap stands is decided; through to the post-construction phase, when livelihoods activities are implemented. Confidence building workshops gave women and vulnerable groups the skills to participate actively in group meetings. Gender, rights and social inclusion were mainstreamed throughout the project activities, guidelines and procedures, and in addition, where needed, targeted approaches were applied (eg. for issues such as holding workshops for female User Committee members, or improving the access of people with disabilities). In addition, the processes and lessons learned were shared nationally and internationally, via participation in workshops, trainings, publications and conferences.