WASH SDG Programme

mechanical sludge emptying in Indonesia

Collaborating with city authorities and utility operators to develop inclusive and sustainable sanitation services for 17 cities across Africa and Asia.

Bangladesh,Indonesia,Nepal,Tanzania,Zambia

ongoing

The WASH SDG Programme is a manifestation of the Dutch commitment and contributions to realising the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6. It is a five-year consortium programme (July 2017-September 2022) financed by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose members - SNV, WAI, and Plan International - aim to increase access to and use of safe drinking water for at least 450,000 people; and to improve access to and use of sanitation facilities, and good hygiene behaviours for at least 2 million people.

Programme objectives

The programme is being implemented across seven countries in Africa and Asia, giving specific attention to gender and social inclusion and climate vulnerability and resilience. SNV is active in five of the seven WASH SDG implementation countries, namely, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Tanzania and Zambia.

Overall, the consortium commits to reaching the following objectives:

  1. increase demand for improved WASH facilities and practices;

  2. improve the quality of service provision; and

  3. improve governance of the sector.

Approach

In all five countries, SNV applies its urban sanitation approach, Urban Sanitation and Hygiene for Health and Development (USHHD). The USHHD is designed to address the entire sanitation chain and realise inclusive, sustainable and scalable city-wide sanitation services. It is an integrated approach that offers a suite of services, including,

  1. strengthening capacities to institutionalise effective behavioural change communication on issues of safely managed sanitation and hygiene.

  2. developing safe and affordable sanitation and hygiene consumer services for different population segments.

  3. improving local treatment, disposal and reuse options, making them environmentally safe, socially acceptable, and financially sustainable.

  4. scaling up a city-wide service delivery framework, which is co-developed with local authorities and stakeholders, and supported by enforcement and regulation protocols.

  5. building capacities and systems for the sustainable and full-cost recovery of city-wide sanitation services, supported by smart financing and investments.

For more information, contact SNV's Water team by e-mail, adding 'WASH SDG Programme' in your subject line.

News and stories

15/12/2023Impact story

City sanitation programming advances amid limited global climate financing

02/11/2023Blog

Sanya’s vision: formalising more manual emptier groups

19/04/2023Update

Group of 27 calls for the Water Action Agenda to prioritise water quality

Panelists of the Pollution, Sanitation, Water Quality and Climate Resilience: A Call to Action session at the UN 2023 Water Conference
See all our updates

Our donors and partners

Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS)
plan nl
wash
WASH SDG logo

Broadening our scope

Our experience implementing the WASH SDG programme, among others, has contributed to broadening the scope of our urban service offerings. Since 2022, SNV's USHHD approach has been enlarged to a Sustainable Urban Water Cycle (SUWC) approach - a holistic, integrated water and waste management approach for cities.