Supporting water sanitationand hygiene services for life

Tyhra Carolyn Kumasi, Marieke Adank, Nicolas Dickinson, Esinu Abbey, Tom Laari Chimbar, Benjamin Dawura Agbemor & Jeremiah Atengdem

WEDC Conference 2014

Monitoring water services in Ghana: the why, the what, the how and the cost

Why monitor water services?

Difficulty with regular updating of data and its related cost implications and economic challenges

No agreed methodology or framework for service monitoring-the indicators/benchmarks-What are we monitoring and how?

Monitoring focused on coverage but not monitoring services and the conditions for ensuring sustainability

Effective monitoring of water services leads to improved planning and resource allocation for water service delivery

Monitoring what?

Functionality: Not just counting systems, but also considering whether they are functioning or not

However:

− Does not show level of service

− Only focused on output, not underlying factors

Monitoring what? Service level

Service Levels for handpumps

III Handpump provides water services meeting the minimum standard on all service level indicators

II Handpump provides water services failing to meet the minimum standard on one or more service level indicators

I Handpump is not functioning

Service level indicators

Quantity 20 litres per capita per day

Quality Meets all Ghana Standards Authority standards

Coverage Max 150 people per hand dug well / 300 people per borehole

Distance Max distance to water point 500 metres

Reliability

The facility is providing water for at least 95% of the year

Monitoring what? Looking beyond pumps and pipes: Service provider and authority indicatorsNeed to also monitor Water service providers: day-to-day management of a water serviceService authority functions: including planning, coordination, oversight, monitoring, technical support to community-based water service providers

Indicators:Composite indicators, scored from 0 (worst) to 100 (best), with a benchmark with the minimum acceptable score

Monitoring what? Service provider and authority indicators

Service provider indicatorsService authority indicators

Management and governance:

Presence and composition of a Water and Sanitation Management Team (WSMT)

Record keeping and accountability

Non-interference in the composition of the WSMT

Operations:

Spare parts supply and technical services

Maintenance Water

quality testing

Presence of a District Works Dept

District Water and Sanitation Plan

Budget allocation and utilization

Facility mgt plans and by-laws

NGO coordination

Monitoring support to service providers

Data transfer from district to regional level

FinancialManageme

nt:

Revenue & expenditure balance

Financial mgt

Tariff setting

How?• Collaborative process of indicator development,

based on national norms, standards and guidelines

• Data collection using mobile phone technology (Akvo-FLOW)

• Piloting in three districts (2012-2014)

• Replication in 16 districts (2013)

• Scaling up in 133 districts (ongoing)

Cost of monitoring

Initial set up cost and the cost of the mobile phones

Recurrent cost of service monitoring covering

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

725

4,507

1,427 1,666

8,324

414

3,542

881 1,083

5,918

Round 1 Round 2

Cost component

Co

st f

data

mo

nit

ori

ng

in

20

12

us$

Some lessons learnt• The implementation of the framework might not be

feasible taking into consideration the extensive set of indicators. o more resources to undertake on a more frequently

basis. o Limited, scarce financial resources

• It is recommended districts should have two set of monitoring indicators; the lighter and heavier version for quarterly and annual data collection respectively.

• Self reporting using SMS functionality tracking could provide a cheaper means of having monthly data on the status of facilities.

• Depending on the use of the monitoring data districts can sample for an overview of the facilities and performance of service providers and authority.

Thank you all