ANAM WASH PARTNERS HOLD A VIRTUAL MEETING ON THE FINDINGS OF THE MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE WASHMASTERPLAN IMPLEMENTATION
On September 24, 2021,partners of the ANAM WASH initiative held a virtual meeting primarily to discussand validate the findings of the Mid-Term Assessment of the WASH Master Plan implementation which was conducted by an independent consultant.
Participant at thevirtual meeting included the District Chief Executive of the Asutifi NorthDistrict (Hon. Anthony Mensah), Senior Programme Officerof Conrad Hilton Foundation (Mrs. Magdalene Matthews Ofori-Kuma), CountryDirector of IRC Ghana (Mrs. Vida Duti), and over 18 others drawn from the District Assembly, Safe Water Network, Aquaya Institute, IRC Ghana/Global, Conrad Hilton Foundation, World Vision International, Center for Disease Control (USA), and ENVICOM Corporation.
On behalf of the teamof consultants that conducted the Mid-Term Assessment of the WASH Master Plan, Mr.Alhassan Hudi presented findings from the assessment. In his submission heconcluded that the ANAM initiative has contributed to: improving capacity ofwater management teams and service providers, CLTS implementation isprogressing steadily, infrastructure for WASH in schools and health facilitiesimproving, increasing investments and joint financing for WASH, improvingcommunity participation in WASH, reducing duplication and enhancing planningand implementation, enhanced potential for scaling and strengthening capacityof the District Assembly.
Mrs. Magdalene MatthewOfori-Kuma and Hon. Anthony Mensah both expressed their delight with the levelof progress achieved so far, and the former added that the Conrad Hilton Foundationwithin the next five years is committed to continuing its work in Ghana with astronger emphasis around integration of safely managed water services. Eachpartner subsequently presented updates on the progress of their work sinceJanuary 2021.
AQUAYA INSTITUTEPRESENTS FINDINGS ON THE TARGETED SUBSIDY PROJECT AT A VIRTUAL ASUTIFI NORTHDISTRICT LEVEL LEARNING ALLIANCE PLATFORM (DLLAP) WEBINAR
On September 16, 2021,IRC Ghana in collaboration with Asutifi North District, convened a virtualDLLAP to discuss the findings of a targeted subsidy project and share lessonslearnt with stakeholders and partners of the ANAM Initiative. Over 12participants from Safe Water Network, IRC Ghana, World Vision Ghana, AquayaInstitute, Asutifi North District Assembly, and selected CSO operating inAsutifi North District attended the meeting.
- The objectives of thestudy were :
- Identify the best method to identify poor and vulnerable households for water subsidies
- How targeted subsidies could be implemented to ensure they effectively reach the poorest households.
Chloé Poulin, JohnTrimmer, and Bashiru Yachori, from Aquaya Institute, made a presentation of thestudy findings. Per their presentation, five targeting methods were assessedduring the study and included an AI-based Proxy Means Test (PMT), Demographicand Health Survey (DHS) Wealth Index, Poverty Probability Index (PPI), CommunityConsultation, and Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) enrollment. Thetargeting methods were assessed based on their targeting performance,acceptability, cost, and ease of implementation.
In concluding their presentation, the Aquaya Institute team recommended firstly introducingconsumption subsidies (to subsidize daily household water consumption atcommunity water points or private household connections) before consideringconnection subsidies (to subsidize the installation of piped household connections)in the mid- to long-term. They added that after the program has been operatingfor at least a few years, it may also be appropriate to reassess householdeligibility for subsidies, to identify new households that may need assistanceor households already receiving the subsidy that no longer need.
CSOS SMALL GRANT AWARDWINNERS COMMENCE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS
After the award ofgrants in July to five Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Asutifi NorthDistrict Assembly to carry out public education and sensitization around issuesof equity and inclusion, the CSOs have begun implementing their projects.
Through the activitiesof the five CSOs, 18 WASH Ambassadors have been identified who on their partwill be undertaking various actions to promote WASH education among citizens inthe district; concept and features for an ANAM WASH App which under development.Other CSOs through the ANAM Small Grants have had interactions with members offour mining communities to sensitize them on the impacts of illegal mining onWASH services. Various training workshop have been organized for up to fourteen(14) Volunteer Teachers from fourteen selected Basic Schools across the AsutifiNorth district by the CSOs.
30TH EDITIONOF ANAM WASH RADIO DISCUSSION
On Thursday, September30, 2021, the 30th edition of the ANAM WASH Radio Discussion washeld at Anapua FM in Kenyasi. The 30th edition discussed andprovided information on the construction of the new Kenyasi No.1 water system.The resource persons who participated in the discussion included:
- Hon. Anthony Mensah – District ChiefExecutive, Asutifi North District.
- Mr. James Ata-Era – District PlanningOfficer, Asutifi North District.
- Mr. Nutsuakor Charles Elikplim – WASHDesk Officer, Asutifi North District.
- Mr. Eric Bartels – Engineer, Safe WaterNetwork.
The WASH Desk Officertook the opportunity to offer listeners of the program an update on WASHrelated complaints that the Assembly had received within the past month, as well as actions that had been taken by the Assembly and its partners to resolve issues. He provided an update on the growth of the ANAM Network Membership, and general WASH related news and ongoing/pending/upcoming activities.
Hon Anthony Mensah tookthe opportunity to provide a background on what led to the construction of the Kenyasi No.1 water system, and the expected number of people who will benefit from the water system upon completion. He highlighted similar projects that had been undertaken in other communities in the district and thanked stakeholders and ANAM partners for the support and collaboration he enjoyed from them as the DCE in the pursuit of universal WASH services for all in the district.
Mr. James Ata-Era andMr. Eric Bartels provided more information to listeners on how households would be connected to the water system upon completion of the project. They elaborated on the capacity of the water system and current level of completion of the project. Mr. Ata-Era finally talked about plans to ensure the sustainable management of this new water system upon its completion, and answered questions from citizens who called into the program.