By Eline Bakker, Programme Officer, IRC
Rwanda has set ambitious targets to achieve universal access to basic water supply and sanitation by 2024 and provide safely managed WASH services by 2030. To meet these targets, Rwanda adopted the District-Wide Approach (DWA) in 2016. The DWA establishes the district as unit of analysis and work, and incorporates this integrated planning approach into national WASH policies and funding strategies.
Between February 2017 and June 2019, the DWA was piloted in five districts. Based on a series of assessments, districts develop a costed WASH plan for their entire area, and these plans are used to guide future investments in WASH service delivery and also orient the actions needed to ensure sustainability of services. These plans help the districts in mobilising funds.
“The District-Wide Approach is not a new idea… it is a traditional project cycle, which is improved to include details …. to ensure delivery of universal and sustainable services,” described one government officer involved in piloting the District-Wide Approach. This is also reflected in the learning note presented below. In particular, it contains lessons from the pilots on which steps to take to build these district WASH plans in an effective and efficient manner, as well as the critical relevance of such plans for sustainable service delivery.