Building Partnerships for Sustainable Water and Sanitation Services in Africa

This briefing note provides a rapid scan of partnership initiatives by the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) to improve the state of water and sanitation services in Africa. The note aims to highlight the gains and challenges of the major collaborative initiatives, focusing on where progress has been made or activities are ongoing at a strategic, thematic, and regional or country level. The collaboration is now focusing on: a) intensifying operational cooperation and joint work in additional African countries, including fragile and post-conflict countries; b) continuing to share information and to participate in capacity-building activities, with an emphasis on training in operational contexts; c) intensifying joint work in water supply, and particularly sanitation and hygiene; and, d) developing a monitoring system focused on results rather than inputs.

T his briefing note provides a rapid scan of partnership initiatives by the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) to improve the state of water and sanitation services in Africa.The note aims to highlight the gains and challenges of the major collaborative initiatives, focusing on where progress has been made or activities are ongoing at a strategic, thematic, and regional/country level.
Overall, the collaboration is increasing and starting to bear fruit.WB-AfDB-WSP cooperation has strengthened over the past five years, with focus on coherence and collective action.At the country and regional levels, cooperation has increased greatly, including growing coordination of country support strategies, joint analytical work and increased co-financing.Institutional interaction has deepened as managers and operational staff engages in cross-consultations and sharing of knowledge.
More specifically, collaboration has increased in both lending and non-lending services, across a wide range of countries, and in a variety of approaches, including public expenditure reviews (PER), strategies, support for PRSPs, Country Portfolio Performance Reviews and Country Assistance Evaluations.The World Bank and AfDB continue to co-finance large scale, multi-donor operations in the water sector, where AfDB's experience with multinational lending has brought important value to regional initiatives, for example through the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) and the Africa Water Facility.
A number of other successes are noted, particularly the shift from financing isolated investment projects in the same sector in the same country to collaboration under coherent economic or sector programs.Other notable achievements are in capacity building, information exchange, and policy and strategy development.The lessons from these initiatives will be useful for expanding and deepening further collaboration, particularly in the areas of resource mobilization, co-financing, capacity building, harmonization of corporate policies and instruments, and supporting clients to meet their sector objectives.
So far, implementation of the partnership is being monitored at the input level -joint activities, specific workshops, development of joint plans, etc.This has been useful as a first step, but the focus is now shifting to outputs and outcomes, and how to enhance the quality of products and services that clients receive.
The collaboration is now focusing on: -intensifying operational cooperation and joint work in additional African countries, including fragile and post-conflict countries;

Foreword
C ooperation among the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)1 working in Africa has been transformed in recent years, from ad-hoc consultation to the creation of a structured system built on cooperation across a broad range of issues.MDB cooperation continues to grow, with focus on coherence and collective action.
Following the sponsorship of the Rome Harmonization Forum (2003) and the Marrakech Roundtable ( 2004) on managing for development results, the MDBs also co-sponsored the Paris High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness; organized regional workshops held in preparation for the Forum and participated actively in drafting the Paris Declaration.MDB working groups have played a key role in subsequent work to implement and monitor implementation of the Paris Declaration emphasising national ownership through increasing levels of alignment, harmonisation and mutual accountability.
In April 2005, the MDB Heads expressed a joint view on key development issues and highlighted selected areas of current and future MDB cooperation.
Thematic cooperation, often pursued through technical working groups, endorsed by the MDB Heads, has been a core part of the coherence building efforts of the MDB system in recent years.
Cooperation among MDBs in country and regional operations, joint analytical work and various activities to support harmonized and aligned approaches, has also deepened considerably in the last few years.Memoranda of Understanding underpin much of this cooperation.
While the MoUs themselves are general, they are normally accompanied by action oriented annexes that spell out a joint work program for the MDBs involved.These MoUs are updated periodically.Coordinated/joint country strategies have now seriously entered MDB cooperation, after a slow start.While the depth of coordination varies, these represent major steps in aligning support to countries, for example, in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi.

Context
1 The term Multilateral Development Banks typically refers to the World Bank and four Regional Development Banks: The World Bank Group, African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (AFDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).These institutions provide financial support and professional advice for economic and social development activities in developing countries.They are characterized by a broad membership, including both borrowing developing countries and developed donor countries, and not limited to member countries from the region of a regional development bank.Each bank has its own independent legal and operational status -but with a similar mandate and a considerable number of joint owners, the MDBs maintain a high level of cooperation.
Co-financing is another important part of MDB cooperation, translating into lower transaction costs and opportunities for coordination.Inter-MDB cofinancing makes up a substantial portion of development co-financing, particularly in the case of official and inter-agency co-financing, for example, AfDB-WB water and sanitation operations in Ethiopia.
Sector, thematic, and analytical work is increasingly done jointly (at times in a broader partnership).Recent examples include AfDB-WB joint country economic memorandum in Tanzania; and joint participation in budget support groups in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya The boxes below present the actors of the partnership being analyzed in this paper.
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world.It is not a bank in the common sense.It is made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries-the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
Each institution plays a different but supportive role in its mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards.The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world.Together the World Bank provides lowinterest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management.
Water supply and sanitation represents the biggest category of World Bank lending in Africa -compared to irrigation, water resource management and hydropower.Projects seek to facilitate dialogue on sector reform and to help build national reform and investment programs that other donors can support.Each year World Bank-assisted projects provide new access to water supply for some 3.5 million people, and help to build or rehabilitate 4,500 rural water points.

Box 1: The World Bank
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is a regional multilateral development finance institution established in 1964 to mobilize resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries (RMCs).Since beginning its operations in 1967, the AfDB has become the premier financial development institution of Africa, dedicated to combating poverty and improving the lives of people of the continent and engaged in the task of mobilizing resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries.The AfDB's mission is to promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in Africa.Water and sanitation remains a key priority of the Bank.Under its Medium Term Strategy 2008-2012, the Bank will continue to focus on accelerating access to improved rural water and sanitation services while addressing the needs of Africa's growing peri-urban and urban populations.The Bank, as part of the MTS will support RMCs to mainstream Integrated Water Resources Management in sector programmes and step up support to strengthen sector monitoring and evaluation in RMCs.The Bank also has a number of ongoing complementary initiatives in support of its water sector activities including the RWSSI, AWF, WPP and NEPAD Water and Sanitation Program.

Box 2: The African Development Bank (AfDB)
The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership for improving water and sanitation sector policies, practices, and capacities to serve poor people.WSP works through partnerships with governments at all levels, financial partners, international development agencies, NGOs and the private sector in more than 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, East Asia and the Pacific, and South Asia.WSP is administered by the World Bank, and operates through regional offices in Africa, East and South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and in, Washington D.C.
The role of WSP in Africa is to assist its clients and partners to solve problems by providing advice, bringing comparative practical experience and assisting local leadership.WSP's recent activities in Africa include: supporting increased sustainable access to services; strengthening service provider performance through improved institutions and accountability, and capacity support to governments; strengthening policy, legal, regulatory, institutional, and business environment; awareness raising and M&E: supporting governments to strengthen their ability to track improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene; and, supporting alignment of donors and increasing collaboration among stakeholders.After a high-level meeting in Tunis in December 2003, the two institutions agreed on a set of action plans for cooperation in selected sectors/themes (capacity building, governance, harmonization, HIV/AIDS, infrastructure, regional integration, staff development and water) and countries (Benin, Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Uganda).Since then, cooperation has steadily increased through such areas as jointly supporting AMCOW and NEPAD; river basins organizations; and Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) MDG country assessments.
At a donors' conference in Paris (2005) to discuss the AfDB-led Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI), the World Bank and AfDB pledged to continue their co-operation and focus specifically on scaling up RWSS services at country level.At the same time, AfDB and the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) began to forge closer ties and agreed to collaborate on joint initiatives in the region.
A follow-up AfDB-World Bank-WSP Joint Staff Retreat was held in October 2005 to strengthen working relationships between water supply and sanitation teams in the three institutions; share information on sector initiatives adopted by each institution; exchange lessons and experiences on key thematic areas affecting the scaling up of rural water supply and sanitation services in Africa, with a special focus on lending instruments and monitoring and evaluation; and update each other on progress in sector initiatives adopted by each institution.To further deepen the collaboration, the Retreat sought to identify where incountry operations could be harmonized to accelerate achievement of water and sanitation goals, and also agree on the steps towards establishment of joint investment programs and the setting up of a mechanism to monitor progress.

Engineering stronger collaboration to improve the water and sanitation sector in Africa
The major outcomes of the 2005 retreat were the establishment of working relationships at the management and operational levels.Seven countries -Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania -all with WSS policy/strategy frameworks, were identified for intensive WB-AfDB collaboration, with focus on plugging investment gaps.For another 12 countries -Benin, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda and Zambia -the institutions agreed to continue with planned operations while keeping each other informed on possible areas of collaboration.
The Retreat also agreed on key strategies to WSS sector development including: programmatic approaches and budget support for rural water supply and sanitation; greater focus on promoting hygiene and sanitation; capacity building of regional sector institutions and strengthening of regional sector monitoring.The supplementary arrangement concerning collaboration on water and sanitation between the World Bank and AfDB was signed on 24 January 2007.
The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), established in 2005 to assist Regional Member Countries (RMCs) to mobilise and apply resources to meet the goals for the water sector that were established by the African Water Vision (AWV) 2025 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).AWF provides facilitation support to African countries for the creation of an enabling environment, and small scale investments piloting alternative approaches and technologies.
The support is structured around four areas of intervention: i) strengthening water governance, ii) investments to meet water needs, iii) strengthening the financial base, and iv) improving water knowledge.The AWF is able to work with a broad range of recipients.These include regional entities (Regional Economic Communities or River Basin Organisations, regional NGOs) and national entities.(national/local governments, parastatals, NGOs, civil society organisations).The African Development Bank (AfDB) is hosting the Facility on the request of AMCOW.

Box 4: The African Water Facility:
A second Retreat, which also included the participation of the African Water Facility, was held in February 2009 to review successes and challenges of joint activities undertaken at country level, as well as to exchange lessons and experiences on cross-cutting issues, including Public Expenditure Reviews and MDG reporting.The retreat achieved the following outputs: • Better appreciation of current WSS portfolios and project pipelines of the two banks provided a much clearer perspective on the potential for collaboration at country and thematic levels; • Updating of a collaboration matrix, and agreement on a roadmap to advance the collaboration over the next two years; • Prioritization of areas for thematic collaboration, including Public Expenditure Reviews, Country Status Overviews, AfricaSan follow-up and innovative financing for WSS; • Countries identified for collaboration were increased from 19 to 27, although the level and areas of collaboration will be specific to country circumstances; • A mechanism for reporting progress of the collaboration was reviewed and focal points designated in each institution to coordinate information collection; • A consensus to convene an AfDB/RWSSI donor conference with support of WSP and World Bank.
The role of the WSP liaison office at AfDB headquarters in Tunis was recognized as being instrumental in advancing the collaboration, and it was agreed that it be strengthened.The retreat further agreed on the following immediate actions: documentation of case studies to illustrate the successes and challenges of the collaboration; development of a framework for rapid analysis of the impact of collaboration; and, preparation of a joint brief to share lessons on the collaboration so far.
These periodic retreats are important.They are however, not a substitute for active and intensive collaboration at the working level in each country with the individual TTLs, which is arguably the most effective and high impact activity.
In gearing up to achieve higher levels of collaboration, there have been a significant number of activities at various levels.On the institutional/management level, formal agreements have been signed and the WSP liaison office opened at the AfDB headquarters in Tunis in 2007.A follow on agreement for another three years is being finalized.
On knowledge sharing and capacity building, joint workshops have been held and joint publications produced.At the operational level, there have been joint supervision missions with appraisals in eight countries and mutual contributions to project preparation.
At the sector policy level there have been 12 joint sector reviews, joint financing of budgetary reviews in three countries and co-financing of water sector projects in seven countries.There have also been a number of cross-cutting Generally, it can be said that there is a sliding scale representing different levels of collaboration between the partners reflecting the fact that collaboration is not a finite event but a dynamic process which is best described as a continuum, as illustrated in Table 1 below.This ranges from basic networking and cooperation to coordination, collaboration and ultimately, fully fledged partnership with mutual accountability.

Table 1: Collaboration levels
The collaboration between the institutions has inevitably taken various forms ranging from information sharing, coordinated joint missions, joint aide memoires, joint publications, agreeing common implementation modalities, cofinancing investments, harmonized programme approaches, and joint project supervision among others.
The crucial point is that in all the African countries where the two Banks and WSP are working there is some degree of collaboration and, perhaps most important, the commitment to collaborate.This sends the positive and encouraging signal to host governments and other development partners that partnership and improved coordination for enhancing delivery of development assistance is the way forward.While improving alignment and harmonisation are jointly recognised as crucial elements to improve aid-effectiveness, the two Banks appreciate that together, and with support from WSP, they are better placed to identify best practice, refine it and scale it up so that it can be replicated across borders.Other A scorecard has been developed as a tool to monitor progress against agreed collaboration indicators and is a useful process monitoring tool for line managers and a checklist for task managers.Each country team reports on their current collaboration status according to this matrix and scores are assigned reflecting a simple comparative numerical measure2 of progress.The graphic below shows the status of collaboration for operations, policy, financing and knowledge sharing at the time of the February 2009 retreat.

Figure 1: Collaboration Scorecard
As indicated by the matrix and the scorecard, collaboration has been categorized and measured according to knowledge sharing, capacity building, operations, financing and sector policy development.Knowledge management activities on which both institutions have collaborated include the development of Country Status Overviews (CSOs) related to the status of achievement of the water and sanitation MDGs, an assessment of progress towards reaching the sanitation MDGs in Africa, the eThekwini Declaration on Sanitation, the First African Water Week, Public Expenditure Reviews on RWSS and support to RWSSI implementation described in the next section.Successful field level operations, joint financing and sector policy support are illustrated in the 4 case studies which in turn lead into the final sections on challenges, perspectives and lessons learned.

Multi-partnership in developing MDG Country Status Overviews
Under the auspices of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), Country Status Overviews (CSOs) were prepared to gauge the success and challenges of sixteen African countries in making progress towards the WSS MDGs.
A collaborative undertaking, the report 'Getting Africa on Track to Meet the MDGs on Water and Sanitation' was published in 2006.The Overview consists of individual country reports produced through consultation, data gathering using local sector experts, detailed discussion with country sector stakeholders, and endorsement by lead government sector agencies.The use of an agreedupon and standardized format means that while it is a country-led initiative, it allows a sector-wide perspective and creates a comparative basis for sharing country experience and identifying corrective action.The Overview also examines countries' level of preparedness to meet the targets, the financing requirements and gaps, and the sustainability of the sector.
The Overview was a multi-agency initiative involving the African Development Bank, the Water and Sanitation Program, the World Bank, United Nations agencies, and the European Union Water Initiative.
Preparations for producing the next regional country status report -CSO2 -are underway.It is intended that the exercise will cover 30 countries, involve more partners and utilize much improved data.The second round of CSOs based on benchmarking of WSS service delivery pathways, will be carried out with a greater emphasis on: in-country consultation; regional peer-to-peer learning, and facilitate linkages with international M&E processes and initiatives such as the JMP, GLAAS and the Global Framework for Action (GF4A) -an emerging international response to the urgent need to get countries back on-track for the WSS MDGs.

The 2 nd AfricaSan Conference and the eThekwini Declaration
The 2nd African Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene (AfricaSan+5) held in February 2008 in Durban, South Africa, reached firm resolutions to place

Examples of successful knowledge-based collaboration initiatives
sanitation and hygiene at the top of the development agenda in Africa.Coming five years after the First AfricaSan Conference that helped to formulate a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) specifically for sanitation, AfricaSan+5 marked the climax of a continent-wide process to assess progress, challenges, and lessons towards achieving the sanitation MDG.WSP was lead convener, along with the AfDB, Unicef, UNSGAB, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and WHO.
At the end of the event, the attending ministers endorsed the eThekwini Declaration and agreed on an Action Plan that articulates the critical actions to be further developed, funded and monitored by 2010 in order to put Africa 'back on track' to meet the sanitation MDGs.
In the eThekwini Declaration, ministers agreed to review, update and adopt national sanitation and hygiene policies within 12 months of AfricaSan 2008; establish one national plan for accelerating progress to meet national sanitation goals and the MDGs by 2015, and take the necessary steps to ensure national sanitation programs are on track to meet these goals.They also undertook to establish specific public sector budget allocations for sanitation and hygiene programs, and to commit at least 0.5 percent of GDP to the sector.Ministers also agreed to support the leadership of AMCOW to track the implementation of the eThekwini Declaration and prepare a detailed report on progress in mid-2010, when AMCOW will provisionally host a follow-up AfricaSan event. The

Support to the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative
Inadequate access to basic water and sanitation services in rural Africa where more than 65% of Africans live is a major developmental challenge for the continent with several countries off-track in their progress towards meeting the MDG targets for water and sanitation.The first International Donors conference on RWSSI was therefore held in response to this challenge in 2005 in Paris.
The conference successfully mobilized the main international donors and the African Governments to adopt RWSSI as the common framework for resources mobilization and investment for rural water supply and sanitation services development in rural Africa.
The AfDB subsequently established the RWSSI Trust Fund (RWSSI TF) in 2006 with a view to scale up the financing of RWSS Programmes.The RWSSI is a flagship initiative of the AfDB -supported by development partners -to assist African countries accelerate access to rural water and sanitation services.The objective of RWSSI is to help Regional Member Countries (RMCs) to achieve 80% access to water supply and sanitation in rural areas by 2015 at a cost estimated at US$ 14.2 billion spread over three phases.The AfDB made a commitment to the RMCs and the international community to provide 30% of the financing from its resources.The other 50% would be mobilized from donors and the remaining 20% from governments and the beneficiary communities.
In the framework of collaboration, staff of WSP liaison office in Tunis contributed by reviewing preparation/evaluation reports of a number of RWSSI country programs and participating in supervision missions.Knowledge management has been another key area of collaboration that is adding value to the activities of RWSSI, especially in the area of implementation approaches.Key studies including PERs in RWSS sub-sector, sanitation assessments in Africa, review of RWSSI implementation and distilling lessons in various approaches to community management delivery and development of models for delegated management of rural water supply services are all contributing to improving RWSSI as a program.
Staff of the WSP liaison office are involved in co-task managing two of the RWSSI-related studies mentioned above which are supported by the Water Partnership Program of the AfDB.
At country level, the World Bank supports the Initiative, as reflected in the following case studies.
I t is interesting to note that those countries where collaboration is reported to be strongest also represent best practice in terms of the implementation of almost the whole range of Paris tenets according to the World Bank study on aid effectiveness 3 which included a review of water and sanitation programmes in Tanzania, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda and Burkina Faso.In each case, it is reported that: government ownership is strong; sector plans are linked to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs); donors work together (in two cases with pooled financing); support is provided through the budget; there is high quality public financial management and monitoring is carried out by the government together with its partners.The following case studies have been chosen because they have similar characteristics to those listed above but at varying stages of development but all are defined by a strong sense of teamwork.

Ethiopia
The selection of Ethiopia as a collaboration success story is a reflection of the close teamwork between the WB, AfDB and WSP which has been built over a number of years, through several initiatives, culminating in a government rural water supply and sanitation program rooted in the districts which is now attracting a range of donor funding.
In the past, Ethiopia's water and sanitation statistics have been considered among the lowest in the world in terms of access, distance and quantity.About 15 percent of all deaths in Ethiopia were attributed to diarrhoea, mainly among children under five 4 .Against this background, the government has embarked on a radical programme of reform and decentralisation.The Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) identifies water and sanitation as priorities for sustainable growth and poverty reduction.In 2006, the sector produced a Universal Access Plan (UAP), designed to achieve 100 percent water supply and sanitation access by the year 2012, and to reduce the proportion of non-functioning facilities to 10 percent by 2010.To meet these national targets (and the MDGs), the government in partnership with the MDBs and other donors has initiated its National Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in all regions of the country.The Banks' close collaboration in the development process is cemented with financial commitments.The World Bank/WSP learning process included the development of key issues papers as well as the IDA financed Water Supply Development and Rehabilitation project which targeted 25 towns but also included a demonstration project for sustainable rural water supply and sanitation services in 4 regions.This provided an important learning ground and facilitated the development of generic implementation manuals and guidelines for rural water supply and sanitation.Aligning closely with PASDEP, IDA approved a new US$100 million grant and loan in 2004 for the Water Supply and Sanitation Project focusing on new scheme development, rehabilitation of existing ones in both urban and rural areas, and building capacity at the Woreda, regional and federal levels.Out of this financing, 50.5 percent is for RWSS, 39.9 percent for UWSS and 9.6 percent for program management.AfDB having readily supported the development process committed $60m to the national programme.Ethiopia is one of the five countries selected for initial implementation of the AfDB group's Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative.

Country case studies
A contextual feature common to the selected success stories which is seen as an important trigger to boost collaboration is the willingness and capacity of the host government to lead the sector dialogue and promote multi-stakeholder partnership.Another feature is a clearly defined framework which in Ethiopia's case is reflected in the WASH program manuals which have undergone extensive piloting at scale, careful revision and now represent a comprehensive sector guide to be followed by all.Ethiopia, like Senegal and Tanzania, has a welldeveloped decentralized system of government with functional systems at all levels although with varying levels of capacity.To this effect, a considerable part of the initial and ongoing program investment has been in developing capacity (with important inputs from the private sector) at the district level.The willingness of AfDB to support this model proved to be an important stimulus for the national program as a whole and a significant factor in DFID's decision to support the national program and channel their finance through the World Bank trust fund.
The key to the successful partnership in Ethiopia is the strong team work between WSP, World Bank and AfDB fully supporting each other in appraisal missions and supervision which have taken place at least twice per year since 2006.This teamwork has been further cemented by the application of a common implementation approach including the WASH Manual and the establishment of common institutional structures and a collective approach to capacity building.Ethiopia was quick to develop a national financing strategy for water and sanitation as part of the government drive to achieve universal access to water and adequate sanitation by 2012.There is now pressure to implement the key elements.Ethiopia, with facilitation support from the team, has been at the forefront of developing a comprehensive sector monitoring and evaluation system for the sector.The team has also been supporting government in the development of common fund flow mechanisms complete with a financial management manual with joint trainings rolled out through the country.
The public expenditure review has resulted in a number of recommendations including the need to implement the sector financing strategy and improve fund flow mechanisms (with greater harmonisation and alignment), which will require some flexibility from each stakeholder.AfDB has taken a positive lead towards aligning development partners with preferred government disbursement procedures and the forthcoming review provides opportunities for further harmonisation and strengthening of the donor trust fund, moving towards a fully fledged SWAp.
It is also recognised that the highly successful Multi Stakeholder Forum provides an important collective opportunity for government-led sector review and planning.The AfDB/WB/WSP team recognise the important influence their close collaboration has on development partner harmonisation, alignment and mutual accountability.There is strong commitment to strengthen institutions and build local capacity within a coordinated framework to facilitate better information exchange among stakeholders in moving towards a SWAp.
Not surprisingly, given Ethiopia's history of chronic strife and repeated drought and famine compounded by low levels of external investment, the sector remains off-track towards meeting the water and sanitation MDG targets5 .Investments of around $243 million a year are needed for water supplies, and considerable work (in terms of promotion and marketing), is needed to help the 70 percent of Ethiopians move up the sanitation ladder to achieve JMP defined adequate sanitation status.Institutional investment for sanitation in schools and health centres constitutes government's primary responsibility and represents a considerable proportion of the sector financing gap.Collaboration, invoking new sources of funding, is an imperative for the sector and at least part of the formula is firmly in place!

The Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Collaboration between WB, AfDB and WSP in DRC derives from a conducive but fragile context which sees a relatively new government willing to own the sector dialogue and the all important willingness among the three task managers to take information exchange along the continuum towards genuine partnership with mutual accountability.
The World Bank supported Urban Water Supply Project in DRC (US$190 Million Grant approved by the Board in December 2008) was prepared in full partnership with the AfDB-funded Semi-Urban Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PEASU), through an AfDB Grant of UA 6 70 Million which became effective in 2007.The projects are complementary as the AfDB focuses on investments, while the WB is supporting the reform process.Several AfDB and World Bank missions have been carried out simultaneously and key documents of both institutions (Aide-Memoires, Project Appraisal Documents.) A DRC team comprising legislators, government officials, staff from the national water utility (REGIDESO), trade unionists, and officials from Copirep (the public body in charge of state utilities' reforms) went on a week-long exposure visit to two Senegalese water utilities, SONES and SDE.After the visits, officials cited a number of success factors for urban water supply reforms: strong political will; involvement of all stakeholders in the reform process; development and implementation of a communications plan; and ensuring that the reforms are well suited for specific country contexts.
The DRC team opted for a management contract and put in place a mechanism to strengthen political commitment by organizing several workshops to sensitize the water trade union and other stakeholders on the reform process and its outcomes.A social plan for the water supply project is also being finalized.

Box 6: WSP facilitates cross-country learning
have benefited from reviews by both donors.Coordination is particularly strong on institutional arrangements and water sector reform.In agreement with the AfDB and REGIDESO (State Water Utility Company -DRC), and for purposes of economies of scale, efficiency and sustainability, the same institutional arrangements (including an implementation unit) within REGIDESO are being used for the two projects.A unique Financial Management Unit is running both projects, with a common financial system and a common manual of procedures.This will include a common reporting format and reporting period, as well as the same auditing and supervision arrangements.The key factors for the successful collaboration are thought to be the number of missions (including the Bank's appraisal mission) which have been carried out in the common and the complementary approaches: the WB supporting the reform process and AfDB supporting infrastructure investment.
There has been strong collaboration between the Banks and WSP teams in that all preparatory missions included both Bank and WSP staff.WSP organized seminars in Senegal which has enabled key Congolese officials to see the advantages of private sector participation.Since the very beginning of project preparation, there has been a clear alignment of visions between WSP and the Banks around the reform of the DRC urban water sector.Furthermore, and despite DRC emerging from years of conflict, there is Government willingness to partner with the two Banks as it engages in and starts to lead the sector dialogue.In this regard, WSP has played a crucial role in assisting with an inventory of all sector stakeholders, helping to facilitate meetings between these various sides, as well as in strengthening focus on services to the urban poor.
There is a very strong sense of team work between WSP, World Bank and AfDB managers spanning 3 years of joint action in the urban water sector.The team has fully supported each other in a variety of 'joint' missions even sharing feasibility studies which have helped to 'fast-track' project preparation (a defining feature of AfDB's new comparative advantage in the sector).Although now considered to be a part of the old aid architecture, the banks share the same implementation unit within REGIDESO reflecting an important transition step for the fragile state.This joint unit reduces transaction costs, ensures common communication streams and maximises potential synergies.The unit is a central feature in the fulfilment of their key complimentary approaches -reform and infrastructure development.
AfDB is currently developing plans for an expanded Small Towns/RWSS programme which is scheduled for 2010.This initiative is designed to expand the platform and will hope to leverage additional funds from other donors.In addition, AWF is already active in the Congo Basin through trans-boundary Integrated Water Resource Management and information & knowledge infrastructure management.
In terms of other joint sectoral and sub-sectoral activities, a Public Expenditure Review is planned for 2010 to cover both urban and rural flows.The first round of country status overviews, facilitated by WSP in 2006 provided an important starting point for an improved sector-wide monitoring and evaluation framework.Preparations are underway for the second round which will pave the way for increased local ownership with links to the Pan-African Sector Wide Assessment work of the AWF.
The challenge in DRC is still considerable, particularly in the rural areas.Only 11.5 million people have access to safe water supply (i.e.22 percent of the total population, as compared to approximately 60 percent, on average, in Sub-Saharan Africa)7 .Meeting the MDG targets means providing access to drinking water to an additional 16 million more people (to achieve 49 percent coverage by 2015) and adequate sanitation to an additional 21 million people (to reach 45 percent in 2015, which is a fivefold increase from 2005 levels).These are huge challenges which will also yield huge returns in terms of improved health status of populations and reduction of poverty.
In summary, synergy among partners is a major source of cost saving for the government and allows scarce donor resources to be optimized.In particular, using the same Unit has proved the most appropriate way to handle the Government's limited capacity to implement projects and may catalyze the interest of other donors to invest in the sector.

Senegal
Senegal has been selected as a collaboration success story not because there has been a spectacular fusion between AfDB, World Bank and WSP (although there is clearly a close working relationship) but because Senegal captures all the key tenets of the Paris declaration.The Senegalese government is: leading the sector dialogue; setting the pace of reform, actively coordinating donor, NGO and private sector inputs within a national, decentralised, sector wide programme which has managed to successfully engage the private sector in both urban and rural construction, operation and maintenance.The Senegalese water and sanitation sector offers a blueprint for the new aid architecture where alignment, harmonisation, aid effectiveness and mutually accountable partnership are the cornerstones of programme design.
Senegal is characterised by strong government leadership invoking donor harmonisation and alignment in a nationally designed programme -Programme Eau Potable et Assainissement du Millénaire (PEPAM) -managed and regulated by a strong and well-organised government-led coordination unit.Senegal was • to provide access to drinking water for an additional 2.3 million people, i.e. to reach a total of 82 percent of rural households; • to provide household drinking water connections to 88 percent of Dakar's households and 79 percent of households in other urban centers and consequently supply an additional 1.64 million people; • to reduce differences in access rates between Dakar and the other regions from 25 percent in 2004 to 11 percent.
• To increase 'adequate' sanitation access from 64 percent to 78 percent in urban areas and from 17 percent to 59 percent in rural areas.

Box 8: PEPAM Targets to 2011
Both Banks and WSP are supporting the same reform process of the urban water supply sector in DRC.The strategy is to create the conditions for REGIDESO to improve its operations and redress its finances through a change process led by a professional operator under a five-year management contract.Such private sector involvement will bring technical and managerial know-how, thus reducing operating cost and improving sales, while setting-up a clear contract between the State and the operator.This will significantly improve governance in the water sector, as well as improving the REGIDESO's financial situation.

Box 7: A Shared Reform Agenda
the first country to develop an MDG roadmap, utilize grass roots community planning in informing the national programme (with support from WSP) and to hold a decentralised joint sector review (through regional stakeholder forums) in 2008.Water supply access is relatively high and the public-private sector partnership operating since 1996, managed to increase access rates by 18 percent in 7 years.There is also a National Sanitation Company which is unique in sub-Saharan Africa.Collaboration is strongly championed by the government.
Despite the progress achieved, there are still shortcomings in the sector.The amounts of water used for agriculture or consumed by the administration are still too high, there are leaks on the network and there are considerable disparities in access to drinking water, particularly between the region of Dakar and the other urban centres.
PEPAM represents the strategy and investment program through which the Government of Senegal intends to achieve the water and sanitation MDGs.In the urban water and sanitation subsector, the strategy aims to deepen the reform process which was supported by two World Bank-funded projects and move to a second generation of reforms.Rural areas will also see a profound shift to private sector participation.The World Bank is supporting rural and urban water supply and sanitation as well institutional development and capacity building to the tune of US$ 57 million while AfDB contributing is US$ 44.7 million for rural water and sanitation through the RWSSI.
The government has led the sector dialogue and defined the nature of partnership with development actors within a strong decentralized system with active engagement of the private sector.PEPAM is characterised by regular joint missions between government and development partners, common procedure manuals and the whole process is managed by the joint government led coordination unit.This is formalized under an annual joint sector review, where progress, plans, investments and challenges are addressed in a coordinated multi-stakeholder forum.
WB and AfDB are co-financing the ongoing Long Term Water Sector Project.AfDB is financing two rural water and sanitation projects under the PEPAM amounting to over US$ 80 Million while IDA is preparing a US$45 Million operation for FY10 under the same program.AfDB and WB will continue current co-financing of PEPAM with a raft of coordinated activities including the promotion of private sector participation in operation and maintenance of both urban and rural water supplies.WSP will continue to share lessons with other West African and Francophone countries notably Congo and DRC.Senegal will also benefit from ongoing collaboration between AfDB and WSP on creative finance and monitoring.
Sanitation poses a big challenge in Senegal and in 2005 definitions and standards in line with the JMP were formalised and agreed nationally.The national programme with its decentralised water and sanitation plans was well placed to respond to the African call for national sanitation and hygiene action plans.The World Bank support for rural sanitation (US$12.9 million) will be implemented by AGETIP8 (a private non-profit agency up with support from the WB) under an agreement with the Department of Sanitation in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation (MUWS).It will provide grants to communities and households in rural areas to improve their sanitation facilities through the construction of (i) 17,000 household latrines (13,600 VIPs + 3,400 manual flush toilets); and (ii) 400 public toilets and 17,000 washing facilities.The AfDB sanitation component includes the construction of 400 public toilets in schools and health centres as well as 11,000 facilities for new family latrines including washbasins in conformity with the 'standard package'9 .
The MDGs targets are to achieve by 2015: (i) 100 percent of the urban population served (universal coverage) and 82 percent of the rural population having access to safe water; and (ii) 78 percent of the urban population and 59 percent of the rural population having access to improved sanitation services.
To achieve these targets, the Banks suggest a total financing package of US$480 million is required between 2005 and 2015 for the urban water and sanitation component and US$540 million for the rural water and sanitation component.
The recent annual report (2009) estimates the current investment at 51 percent of the required total.

Tanzania
Tanzania has gone through a long process of sector learning where discrete projects contributed significantly to access which proved to be short-lived because there was a limited sense of local ownership and systems for operation and maintenance proved to be unsustainable.However, a World Bank-financed pilot with multiple donor participation including AfDB saw the evolution of a national program built on strong partnership with clear government leadership.
The Government of Tanzania (GoT) has developed the water and sanitation sector as an intrinsic part of its poverty reduction strategy (MKUKUTA) recognizing that adequate water supply and improved sanitation are necessary ingredients in promoting economic growth and fighting poverty.In 2002 a National Water Policy (NAWAPO) was formulated with a mission of "integrated and sustainable management, development and use of water resources in Tanzania".In order to operationalize the NAWAPO and to achieve the MDGs for water supply and sanitation, the GoT formulated the Water Sector Development Programme (WSDP).The WSDP aims to increase access to water supply from 53 percent in 2006 to 69 percent coverage for rural water supply and adequate sanitation from 50 percent to 90 percent by 2010.Universal coverage is the target for 2025 necessitating a radical improvement of the current operation and maintenance practice if any real level of sustainability is to be achieved.
National leadership of the water sector dialogue has been strong and Tanzania is a priority country for both Banks.The Tanzania WSDP is a multi-donor funded program implemented in line with the tenets of the Joint Assistance Strategy (JAS).
As  The Banks are jointly seeking bridging funds to meet the shortfall in the national programme, with the AfDB indicating that there is a plan to make additional financing for RWSS to the tune of US$70m in 2010 and there are additional opportunities in Zanzibar where AfDB is making US$ 42m available.WSP's experience in sanitation marketing and hand washing promotion is eagerly anticipated and, as with the successful mainland partnership, there is a need to study possible links to an urban services project.
AfDB's AWF is developing a sanitation master plan in Arusha but there is a need to mobilize funding.
Collaboration will be extended and expanded to include the joint promulgation of the new Water Act(s) and the mainstreaming of the public expenditure review as a nationally owned and applied tool to better understand and therefore improve government financial management systems.The development of the Hygiene & Sanitation Plan provides further opportunities for close collaboration between WSP and the Banks as they have good experience in piloting sanitation marketing and hand washing promotion.The first round of Country Status Overviews have been completed as an important sector stock-taking exercise, paving the way for round two which will increase local ownership of the process, draw on lessons emerging from the (2007) Sector Information Management Systems workshop and continue to link with the AWF Pan-African M& E review.
An important lesson emerging from Tanzania is the government and the donors' commitment to take collaboration to the next level with a strong push for mutual accountability.Independent monitoring has been at the centre of the mutual accountability process in Tanzania.In 1994, the Government of Tanzania (GoT) commissioned an independent group of advisers to investigate the problems with the aid relationship and propose solutions.Its report facilitated the definition of specific commitments on both sides to improve aid outcomes.Progress has been regularly monitored through a formally constituted Independent Monitoring Group (IMG).In 2002 the GoT's strategy for managing its aid was formalised in the form of the Tanzania Assistance Strategy (TAS).This aims to further improve donor coordination by identifying comparative advantages, introducing a single review cycle and increasing country assistance strategies of the participating donors.
As illustrated in the case studies there are a number of key factors which act as drivers for the collaboration process.These include: • adherence to aid harmonisation • institutions' commitment to collaboration • regular meetings of partners • collective and common goal to succeed in delivering vital WSS services in our client countries • sheer dedication and professionalism of staff of both institutions committed to delivering on results • MDG as a goal that is driving results and ensuring scaling up of resources An important driver is the new more harmonised architecture of aid defined by the Paris declaration (re-affirmed in Accra, Rome, Marrakech, Istanbul and Washington) with its key tenets of national ownership reflected in increasing levels of alignment, harmonisation and mutual accountability.
In line with the Paris declaration and with support from development partners, African countries are increasingly leading the sector dialogue and moving towards sector wide approaches.There is evidence of a mutually beneficial relationship between this emerging country leadership and the level of collaboration between the two Banks.As governments prioritise water and sanitation, there is increasing recognition of the added value brought from harmonisation and alignment in turn reflecting higher levels of collaboration.
The WB, the AfDB and WSP have embraced this new architecture and are encouraging their teams to go the extra mile to expand areas of communication, coordination and collaboration to build an operational culture of enduring partnership.In interviews with staff there was an overwhelming consensus that the key to successful collaboration lies in the relationship and level of mutual trust evolving and prevailing between task managers in the respective institutions.Heightened levels of collaboration and genuine partnership reported in Ethiopia and DRC have led to close teamwork where institutional boundaries are blurred and the interests of the country are the first priority.As one of the task managers was reported as saying, "We must leave our institutional hats at the door, consider the interests of the people struggling without access to water or sanitation and put the country sector at the very centre of our collective efforts." MDGs in setting up the general framework for WSS service delivery and ensuring scaling up of resources are drivers of the current collaboration.Accepted as collective and common goals to succeed in delivering vital WSS, MDGs are driving results of dedicated professional staff of both institutions.

The collaboration drivers
The retreats, as well as a series of meetings that have taken place since 2003, have been important drivers towards improved collaboration.Here, the WSP team (aided by the new liaison office in the AfDB headquarters in Tunis) working in close cooperation with AfDB Staff has been able to use its comparative advantage as facilitator, networker and coordinator to build bridges and support the platforms where development agendas can coalesce.Demonstrated commitment to collaboration is emerging as an unofficial process measure, formalised by the collaboration matrix and scorecard as checklists for managers to assess their own progress.Collaboration is increasingly being considered as a key individual and collective performance marker.

Challenges to improved collaboration
Fostering improved collaboration is a process not an event and there is a raft of challenges which must be overcome not simply in the short, medium or long term but on a day to day basis.Staff changes occur, institutional perspectives shift and shareholders exert their influence.Below are some of the key challenges emphasized during the collaboration process together with some of the solutions already in place or in the pipeline: • How to build consensus throughout the different organizational hierarchies of the importance of improved collaboration and the time and resources which must be allocated to foster and nurture the collaboration process?
• How to ensure ongoing coordination and supervision of the process?
• How to minimize and simplify the reporting burden while also developing a workable system for information exchange and collaboration progress monitoring?
• How to minimize the transaction costs of the collaboration process, maintain focus but retain institutional identity?
• How to set the limits and play to the relevant institution's comparative advantage?
• How to meet the sizeable challenge of the all-important sanitation (and hygiene) goals both national and international?
• How to ensure that each institution can track the progress of their share of service coverage and measure how their inputs have translated into improvement of levels of service?
• How to ensure mutual accountability amongst partners and governments?
• How to link results monitoring to national M&E systems.Possible answer is support to country M&E System?
Key Highlights/Lessons from the Collaboration

Building Consensus on the Importance of Collaboration
Collaboration is being driven at both ends of the bank hierarchy with Memoranda of Understanding formalizing the commitment and setting out the stall for how

Challenges, responses and lessons learned for improved collaboration
the relationship might evolve at the country level.The key to the partnership at country level is to develop and sustain the dialogue from an early stage.

Coordinating and managing the process
Of the 3 partners WSP has the dedicated role in networking and building alliances according to comparative advantage.It is apposite therefore that a key cog in the collaboration wheel has been provided by WSP with a dedicated collaboration office based at AfDB in Tunis which has helped to sustain the momentum as well as enhancing the relationship between WSP and AfDB.
The AfDB provides the comparative advantage as an authentic African voice on development and having strong convening power for African countries on water sector dialogue in support of AMCOW.

Improving Team Work through Institutional Retreats
The onus is on communication and cooperation and there is unanimous agreement that the two yearly retreats timed to coincide with existing activities (such as Water Week) provide a sound platform on which managers and task team leaders can set out and build their partnership.The retreats provide opportunities for mutual planning and pursuing a results-based operational framework outlining key areas for collaboration.By planning the retreats to coincide with events such as Water Weeks, overheads are reduced, time is maximized and there is an additional sector focus to hone discussions.It is however important to point out that the retreats do not substitute for active, intensive collaboration at the working level in each country with the individual TTLs, which is arguably the most effective and high impact activity.

Managing for Results
Simplified reporting systems have been developed with the matrix and scorecard (outlined above).These have provided managers and task team leaders with a results based operational framework and a simple reporting tool which is updated every six months and helps all the stakeholders to monitor the collaboration status.Some task managers and team leaders have included progress on collaboration as part of their results agreement with their line managers.Formalizing collaboration as a results-based output increases the stakes and enhances the commitment.

Setting the limits
The partners have agreed to focus on the 'doable' and not stretch the boundaries of collaboration but have made a strong commitment to enhance their collaboration in fragile and post-conflict states.

Meeting the Sanitation Challenge
The task of turning country sanitation action plans into practice represents one of the major challenges facing the sector.Collaboration, not just between the Banks but across sectors is now recognized as the intrinsic route to MDG attainment.Developing a sound evidence base, engaging more closely with the health sector and expanding sustained private sector involvement are now recognized as key tenets of taking improved sanitation and hygiene to scale.

Improving M&E
Information collection and dissemination remains a key sector challenge.Hard evidence about the state of the sector, including details of stakeholders' inputs and actions, is crucial for governments to lead the sector dialogue.WSP has worked closely with AfDB to develop the first round of Country Status Overviews (CSOs) to complement the work of UNICEF/WHO on the Joint Monitoring programme and work is beginning on the second round which will also complement an AWF Pan-African initiative.The key challenge will be to mainstream these processes within country and regional information management procedures.

Promoting Decentralisation
There is increasing recognition that collaboration is enhanced where there is complete partnership at the local level with a degree of local autonomy among Task Managers and Task Team leaders.There is recognition that this is important work in progress.

Enhancing Mutual Accountability
ODI suggest that mutual accountability 11 is a function of increased collaboration and coherence between donors and recipients with a more equal balance of power.Both parties should be answerable and mutually agreed conditions should be enforceable.In line with experience from the case studies, four main conditions emerge for the development of mutual accountability at country level: reciprocal trust and the 4 Cs: Confidence; Credibility; Coherence; and Capacity.

Emerging lessons from the Case Studies and the Partnership
This field note has identified a number of common factors which have helped to facilitate improved collaboration.These include: • Close adherence to the Paris Declaration; • In-country prioritisation of collaboration; 11 ODI Briefing paper (2006) • The signing a Memorandum of Understanding with agreement on action plans for cooperation; • Close working relationships at management and operational level (including joint missions); • Commitment to collaboration backed by senior management ; • Joint initiatives such as Africasan+5 and the Country Status Overviews; • Supportive supervision with regular reviews of the collaboration; • Joint staff retreats.
Improved collaboration and partnership has led to more comprehensive and strategic planning and effective program execution, facilitating: • More reliable and comprehensive data for planning; • Clearer definition of expected outcomes; • Increased mobilization and improved allocation of resources; • The establishment of management systems; • Coordinated capacity development; • The measurement of progress and results; • Improved communication & accountability.
There is progress in many countries towards meeting WSS MDGs, but greater focus is still needed on enhancing capacity, institutional strengthening, improved sanitation and hygiene, sector monitoring (sector information management systems), sustainability and scaling up.New strategic partnerships and improved collaboration are essential in those countries struggling with limited implementation capacity and in fragile states where institutions have been decimated, governance is weak and sector leadership is poor or nonexistent.Particular emphasis must be placed on the development of systems which recognise African needs, strengthen African capacities and better harmonise African resources.

Box 3 :
The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) I n 2000, AfDB and the World Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a Strategic Partnership between the two institutions.The MoU drew on a Study of Strategic Partnerships between the World Bank and the African Development Bank (July 1999) where water was identified as a key area for collaboration.As a result of an independent evaluation carried out in 2002, the Strategic Partnership was revised to become more operational.

3
Nayyar-Stone R.,Garrett H. Et al (2008) Study on Aid Effectiveness in the Infrastructure Sector -WB UI 8275 4 National Hygiene and Sanitation Strategy, October 2005 AfricaSan 2008 saw a joint review of the sanitation and hygiene status in 32 countries and the eThekwini Declaration with its call for country action plans to address the sanitation MDG, that is off track in so many countries; The Africa Water Week: with key outputs endorsed by the AU and G8 Summits.In the context of monitoring and evaluation there has been the launch of the Pan-African M&E Assessment, Tunis, 2006, Country Status Overviews carried in 16 countries in 2006 and a Sector Information Management Workshop in Nairobi in 2007.On the financing side, there have been five public expenditure reviews carried out and Credit Rating Assessments of seven utilities which is expected to contribute towards increasing the efficiency of operations.Under the Water Operators Partnership -Africa, WSP and the African Water Facility supported the African Water Association (AfWA) and the East and Southern African Region-International Water Association (ESAR/IWA) to set up the partnership, develop a business plan and start implementation.WSP also supported the establishment of the WOP-Africa Secretariat that is to be housed by Rand Water.
-Second AfricaSan conference on sanitation and hygiene leading to the eThekwini declaration -First Africa Water Week (hosted by AMCOW and AfDB) Box 5: Snapshot of major collaboration activities since 2006 achievements:

Table 2 (
below) lists a set of areas of collaboration and activities to measure progress towards improved collaboration.

Table 2 : The Collaboration Matrix Operations Sector Policy Support and Strategy
The First African Water Week (AWW-1), hosted by the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the theme of 'Accelerating Water Security for the Socio Economic Development of Africa', took place in March 2008 in Tunis.The meeting's three objectives were to provide a forum for key actors in Africa's water sector to discuss the opportunities and challenges of achieving water security for Africa's socio economic development, take stock of the status of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and related targets on water in Africa, and make recommendations for consideration by the 2008 African Union (AU) and G8 summits, and the 2009 Fifth World Water Forum (WWF-5).Outcomes from the AWW-1 included an increased awareness on the strategic contribution of water resources infrastructure and services to economic growth and poverty alleviation.In line with this, a call was made for countries to among others, ensure the prioritization of water and sanitation in national development plans, develop MDG Action Plans and for the international community to honour commitments in support of financing water sector development in Africa.The AWW-1 was supported by key partners and several collaborating institutions including WSP and by the AfDB through its Water Partnership Program (WPP), an initiative supported by Netherlands, Canada and Denmark.The AWF and WPP played key roles in the successful organization of this landmark event attended by over 500 participants including 26 African Ministers of Water.WSP supported the participation of 8 country delegations mainly from fragile states, convened 3 sessions of the program and officially launched the report on Country Sanitation and Hygiene Status Review in 32 African countries.Staff of the World Bank also participated as panellists or presented their current analytical work in sessions.
eThekwini Declaration and Action Plan were later endorsed by the African Union at its Heads of State and Government Summit (July 2008) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, under the theme 'Meeting the MDGs on Water and Sanitation.'TheAU Summit adopted the Sharm El-Sheikh Commitments for Accelerating the Achievement of Water and Sanitation Goals in Africa, which committed to: increase efforts to implement past declarations related to water and sanitation; raise the profile of sanitation by addressing the gaps in the context of the eThekwini Declaration; and address issues pertaining to agricultural water use for food security as provided for in the Ministerial Declaration and outcomes capacities and resources for the effective implementation of the Declaration and Action Plan, including a comprehensive tracking system to monitor the implementation of the commitments, including clear indicators for progress evaluation and regular reports to be submitted to AMCOW, the International Task Force and the AfricaSan stakeholders and partners.
with Uganda, the cooperation between WB and AfDB first began in the urban context.With a trusted working relationship established, the two Banks then partnered on the pilot rural water and sanitation project, enabling them (and other development partners) to share lessons prior to scaling-up to a national program.Most donors have agreed to the use of the national procurement and financial management systems with performance reviews during the annual Joint Sector Review of the Program.In this respect, the Program will use an already established fiscal transfer mechanism developed by the Government with support from donors that allows the transfer of consolidated resources to districts against basic formulae and specified qualification criteria.World Bank-AfDB Collaboration is characterized by regular joint missions, a shared procedure manual and significantly, no separate Programme Implementation Unit, with Government leading the partnership.Examples of joint missions include the WB and AfDB preparation and appraisal of AfDB's Tanzania RWSSI as part of the National Water Sector Development Program and the joint UN Habitat / AfDB identification, preparation and appraisal missions in Zanzibar (2007) and more are planned for the coming years including the SWAp joint mission.