RWSN Country Information

Achieving national level systems change is usually the result of years of collaborative engagement and advocacy by like-minded people and organizations, using a variety of tactics and soft skills and putting in time and effort to bring it about. This paper documents five stories of change from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Honduras, Malawi, and Uganda based on interviews with a change maker from each country. Each story provides a personal account of what happened, challenges encountered along the way, and the tactics, soft skills and resourcing that helped to achieve it.

Lograr el cambio de los sistemas a nivel nacional suele ser el resultado de años de compromiso y defensa colaborativos por parte de personas y organizaciones con ideas afines, que utilizan diversas tácticas y habilidades blandas y dedican tiempo y esfuerzo para conseguirlo. Este documento documenta cinco historias de cambio de Camboya, Etiopía, Honduras, Malawi y Uganda basadas en entrevistas con un agente de cambio de cada país. Cada historia ofrece un relato personal de lo sucedido, los retos encontrados en el camino y las tácticas, las aptitudes interpersonales y los recursos que ayudaron a lograrlo.

Le changement des systèmes au niveau national est généralement le résultat d'années d'engagement collaboratif et de plaidoyer de la part de personnes et d'organisations partageant les mêmes idées, utilisant une variété de tactiques et de compétences non techniques et consacrant du temps et des efforts pour y parvenir. Ce document présente cinq histoires de changement au Cambodge, en Éthiopie, au Honduras, au Malawi et en Ouganda, sur la base d'entretiens avec un artisan du changement de chaque pays. Chaque histoire fournit un compte-rendu personnel de ce qui s'est passé, des défis rencontrés en cours de route, et des tactiques, des compétences non techniques et des ressources qui ont permis d'y parvenir.

Contents of this Technical Specifications
1. Technical Specification
2. Annex 1: Standard Borehole Designs
3. Annex 2: Test pumping form
4. Annex 3: Borehole apron design
5. Annex 4: Typical Reporting Forms

Technical Specifications
These technical specifications have been developed to guide the drilling of hand pumps and
production boreholes for supplying water to various communities. They are based on various
documents for borehole construction. In developing the spacifications, different stakeholders,
drilling contractors, hydrogeologists and engineers who have experience in the drilling industry
have been involved and consulted.

The Review of the Rural Water and Sanitation Handbook for Extension Workers (2000) in
2016, reaffirms the Government of Uganda’s commitment towards ensuring availability
and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. This is in line with
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first hand book was developed in 2000
with the major aim of enabling Extension Workers to facilitate community action with
regard to water and sanitation development, management, operation and maintenance of
facilities, and eventually sustainability.
Prior to the review of the handbook, a study was undertaken in 2014, to assess the
effectiveness of the participatory community management approaches highlighted in the
handbook. The study findings indicated that the sector had made progress regarding the
functionality and management of water facilities as indicated by 85% functionality of
water sources and 72% functionality of water and sanitation management committees.
The study further indicated a number of challenges affecting the sector including, lack of
access to spare-parts, unwillingness of water users to contribute towards the management
of installed facilities, voluntary nature of water and sanitation committees and inadequate
support to communities by extension staff. The study further revealed that a number of
good management and technological innovations had emerged.
The Revised Rural Water and Sanitation Extension Workers Handbook (2016) has
therefore taken stock of the challenges mentioned above and the emerging innovations.
New innovations have been highlighted in the areas of communal fund management,
Sub County management structures, Self- Supply approaches, Rainwater Harvesting
Technologies and Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) among others. Effort has
been undertaken to ensure that the Handbook is well illustrated, user friendly and that it
captures best practices and experiences for use by extension workers.
Special thanks and acknowledgements go to the staff of the Ministry of Water and
Environment, Local Government staff, Sector Development Partners, more especially
EU Water Facility and WaterAid Uganda. More thanks go to the selected communities
that assisted and provided information in various ways during the review process.
It is my sincere hope that this handbook which contains well itemized procedures, processes
and tools to use, guides Extension Workers to facilitate communities towards increased
utilization, sustainable operation and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities.
I commend this handbook to Community Development Workers, Health Workers and
Water Engineers who work in both public, Civil Society and private sectors within the
communities.

Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu
MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENT - UGANDA

Highlights
• Community members may prefer to pay for water seasonally rather than monthly.
• Volunteer water user committee members sometimes misused funds, reducing the revenue available for water point maintenance.
• The water point caretaker role was critical to socially appropriate problem-solving and fee collection, justifying a formal position and appropriate compensation.
• Conflicts over queuing and water transport containers could negate the benefits of safe water access.

The National Framework for Operation and Maintenance of Rural Water Infrastructure in Uganda was developed by
the Ministry of Water and Environment in 2019. The objective was to develop options and standards for institutionally and financially sustainable operation and maintenance (O&M systems for rural water supply infrastructure that are currently not adequately covered by existing management models.

The framework is structured into ten sections that include: description of the proposed management arrangements
whose principles are anchored on professionalization of rural O&M.