Reflections on participation and social accountability in water
As Coalition Eau examines opportunities and challenges of participation in the water and sanitation sector, Naomi Hossain reflects on protest and social accountability, urging the aid community to be more attentive.
Please don’t hesitate to share your views in the comments or get in touch to share information and material for the next round-up. Thank you!
The links here go to original material on external websites. WIN is not responsible for the accuracy of external content.
Citizen participation in the water and sanitation sector
Coalition Eau, a network of 30 French NGOs working to promote sustainable access to water and sanitation for all, published an expert note on citizen participation mid-December: La participation citoyenne dans le secteur de l’eau et l’assainissement (in French). The brief is useful and straightforward overview of the definition, opportunities, and challenges of participation in the sector, with specific examples of platforms for citizen input to planning and social accountability or monitoring mechanisms from West and Central Africa.
The brief can be downloaded at: Coalition Eau – Note d’expertise: La participation citoyenne dans le secteur de l’eau et l’assainissement
Why the World Bank is missing out on an Accountability Revolution
Naomi Hossain, on the Oxfam blog From Poverty to Power, sees recent protests across the world also as a call for accountability from governments and political elites. While reflecting on effectiveness and legitimacy of both social accountability initiatives and protests, she urges the international aid community to put nuance and care into their reading of worldwide protests.
“[The aid community] needs to be able to read these protests better, which means being able to listen to what people are saying, and to reflect on what it means for the policies they propose.”
-Naomi Hossain, Why the World Bank is missing out on an accountability revolution
See full blog post: Why the World Bank is missing out on an Accountability Revolution: Reflections on the Global Partnership for Social Accountability Forum 2019