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devote further resources to this area. 79 International support also remains low,
representing just 1 per cent of total aid to the sector in 2008. 80
59. Outreach and awareness-raising also lay the groundwork for more effective
expansion of services in the future. Devoting resources to these activities can often
translate into greater demand and consequently result in greater political will. The
need to create demand is especially relevant with respect to sanitation, where the
benefits of improved services are not immediately obvious and the barriers to access
can be high. 81 While the benefits of having access to water are more obvious,
community outreach can still play an important role by spreading the word about
subsidy programmes. 82 Fortunately, States are beginning to recognize the
importance of allocating resources to community outreach and awareness-raising, as
reflected, for instance, in the 2008 eThekwini Declaration commitment to increase
the profile of sanitation and hygiene in national poverty reduction strategies. 83
IV. Taking accurate stock of resources
60. It is not possible for States to make realistic assessments of where and how
resources should be spent until they can accurately take stock of available resources.
For a variety of reasons, including institutional fragmentation, a lack of
transparency and the absence of mechanisms for monitoring individual
contributions, it is currently difficult to accurately measure or track the amount of
resources flowing into, or leaking out of, the sector. The present section briefly
addresses these obstacles and offers some preliminary recommendations for
improvement.
A.
Problems of fragmentation
61. Fragmentation, that is, when resources and responsibilities are dispersed
across a wide array of institutions and projects, each with their own rules and
objectives, presents a central challenge to accurately measuring resources. 84
Because they span a number of sectors, ranging from public health to housing, water
and sanitation are especially susceptible in this regard. 85
62. Fragmentation often occurs horizontally between institutions when sectoral aid
is managed by a variety of government ministries; for instance, one regulatory
agency may be in charge of managing tariffs, while another monitors water quality.
__________________
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
20
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and WHO, Securing Sanitation: The Compelling
Case to Address the Crisis (Stockholm, 2005), p. 25. Available from www.who.int/
water_sanitation_health/hygiene/securingsanitation.pdf.
UN-Water Global Annual Assessment, p. 30.
SIWI and WHO, Securing Sanitation, pp. 24 and 25.
Sophie Trémolet, “World Water Day: a global inundation of funds is not enough”, The Guardian,
22 March 2011. Available from www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/
mar/22/world-water-day-sanitation-hygiene.
Commitment No. 4 of the eThekwini Declaration, adopted by the Second African Conference on
Sanitation and Hygiene, held in Durban, South Africa, from 18 to 21 February 2008. The text of
the Declaration is available from www.africasan3.com/Images/eThekwiniAfricaSan.pdf.
Mehta and Mehta, Financing Water and Sanitation at Local Levels, p. 59.
UNDP, Human Development Report 2006, pp. 12 and 61.
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