Better WASH services for millions of Mozambicans: an SNV video co-production

This is the story of PRONASAR’s achievements to date, the Government of Mozambique's National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme. Produced by SNV and Materia Prima with support from UKAID (of the Government of the United Kingdom), this video presents the salient methods applied by PRONASAR to achieve area-wide rural water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. It features the true heroes behind PRONASAR, and suggests that a 2030 future of access for all is possible.

Since PRONASAR's 2010 founding, 4,000 rural communities have been declared open defecation free, 250 water supply systems have been set up, and approximately 21,300 water sources and 700,000 latrines have been built or rehabilitated.

Beyond these, narratives of the video's informants are validating that access to better water supply is an 'important engine for the social and economic development of communities.'

For example, time spent previously for water collection (due to distances travelled) could now be used for farming or food production. Incidences of cholera and other water-related diseases have decreased; as water is no longer collected from unreliable sources. School-attending children no longer need to run back to their homes during breaktimes to drink water. New jobs are being generated, e.g., latrine masons/ artisans, or professionals are being introduced to new technologies and/ or water supply and quality monitoring. In Zalala, Quelimane, Zambezia, the presence of a reliable water supply has boosted investments in tourism and other business ventures.

Finally the ten-year experience of PRONASAR and its collaboration with  the Government of the United Kingdom has shown that payment by results (also known as results-based financing/ funding) - even for high investment initiatives such as infrastructure development - is one effective approach to increase access to water supply and sanitation.

SNV in PRONASAR

SNV supports the Mozambican Government’s National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (PRONASAR) as a Capacity Building Agent. Under SNV's Capacity Enhancement for Decentalised Services (CEDeS) project, the SNV WASH team in Mozambique is strengthening government capacity to deliver better WASH services for the rural populations of 20 districts in Zambezia and Nampula provinces.

Since 2016, SNV has been providing advisory services at the national level to improve WASH policy development and implementation, rooted in a clear vision and shared multi-stakeholder understanding of roles, planning and oversight of PRONASAR implementation.

In addition to SNV's work at national level, the team builds capacity at both provincial and district levels to deliver WASH services on the ground. This includes the supervision of water supply construction contracts, demand creation to eradicate open defecation, the design of behavioral change communication campaigns, development of tools for monitoring WASH data at field level using mobile technology, and the design of inclusive water and sanitation technologies to benefit girls and people with disabilities in schools.

Notes
[1] Learn more about SNV's CEDeS contributions, through PRONASAR, from the blog, 'Decentralised WASH service delivery built on the foundations of a coherent policy framework'.  
[2] To celebrate this year's Menstrual Hygiene Day, PRONASAR and its wide range of stakeholders came together to inaugurate the programme's first period-friendly school toilet in Mozambique. Read news, 'Inauguration of a new period-friendly school toilet in Mozambique'