Hi everyone,
We are pleased to share with you some new translations into Portuguese on this topic. Please do feel free to share these with any Portuguese-speaking colleagues! Your feedback is very welcome. 

Local Government Leadership in Sanitation and Hygiene: Experiences and Learnings from West Africa:
A liderança governamental local em saneamento e higiene: experiências e aprendizagens da África Ocidental

Strengthening Sub-National Systems for Area-Wide Sanitation and Hygiene:
Reforçar os sistemas subnacionais para uma cobertura de saneamento e higiene ao nível das unidades administrativas

All our publications in Portuguese are available here.

Thanks and best wishes, 
Alice

Dear all,

It seems that emotional motivators and functioning systems are both essential for sustainable sanitation to happen.

This is the key message coming through Gian Melloni's latest blog ' Levers of change for local government leadership in sanitation '. 

Gian coordinated a research process in West Africa, working with the following local governments and development partners:

• Benin (N’Dali commune, Helvetas),
• Ghana (Yendi municipal, UNICEF),
• Guinea (Molota commune, UNICEF)
• Nigeria (Logo LGA in Benue state, United Purpose)

The blog is intended to complement more formal findings and recommendations from SLH learning briefs and other outputs:

• Learning brief:  Local Government Leadership in Sanitation and Hygiene: Experiences and Learnings from West Africa - Sanitation Learning Hub
• Report:  Local Government Leadership for Sanitation and Hygiene in West Africa - Sanitation Learning Hub  
• Webinar recording:  How to strengthen local government leadership for sanitation and hygiene - Sanitation Learning Hub

I hope these resources are useful to your work. You can learn more about the research process here  Local government leadership in West Africa - Sanitation Learning Hub
Many thanks
Elaine 

Dear friends and colleagues,
 
We are very pleased to present our latest resources on galvanising local government leadership in sanitation and hygiene, from the Sanitation Learning Hub’s ongoing collaborative work with local governments across Africa.
 
Webinar recording: Local government leadership in sanitation and hygiene: experiences
and learnings (Feb 3rd 2022).
Presentations and discussion on what led local governments across East and West Africa to prioritise sanitation and hygiene, identifying commonalities and transferable knowledge. (Findings presented in the webinar are set out in the learning brief and article below).

Learning brief: local government leadership in sanitation andhygiene: experiences and learnings from West Africa (Feb 2022)
Between July & October 2021, SLH worked with government representatives and development partners to develop, share, and cross-analyse case studies looking at local system and government strengthening in four local government areas across West Africa (Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria). This learning brief shares recommendations that emerged from the case studies & through the 3 participatory workshops that followed. 

Journal article:Galvanising and fostering sub-national government leadership for area-wide sanitation programming  (Jan 2022)
The importance of sub-national government leadership for WASH is widely acknowledged, but much of the focus has been on water service delivery. This article focuses on ways to galvanise sub-national leadership for sanitation programming. It identifies lessons learnt from 3 sub-national areas in East Africa(Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya) where positive changes in the prioritisation of sanitation have been seen.
 
I hope this is useful to your work and please do send your feedback, thoughts and comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
Best wishes
Elaine

Dear friends and colleagues,

Webinar: Local government leadership in sanitation and hygiene: experiences and learnings
(English & French event – Le texte en français se trouve en bas)

3 February 2022  11:00 -  12:30 (UK)
Online (Zoom)

WASH system-strengthening approaches highlight the centrality of government leadership and political will for equitable and sustainable services. However, guidance on how to foster political will is limited, particularly in sanitation and hygiene and at the local government level, where the responsibility for implementation often sits.

To bridge this gap, in 2020 and 2021 the Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH) collaborated with local governments and development partners in local areas of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. Through participatory cross-analysis of cases studies, we looked at what led local governments to prioritise sanitation and hygiene, identifying commonalities and transferable knowledge. A Learning Brief documenting the experience of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda is available in  English  and  French , while the Learning Brief on Benin, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria will be available shortly.

This webinar, hosted by SLH, aims to provide an overview of the research and case studies, and to promote reflections on emerging learnings and ways forward. After a first part in which research participants deliver brief presentations, the second part consists of a panel discussion with development partners, local governments, SLH and the audience. Simultaneous translation of the event into French will be available.
Webinar presenters and panellists:

• Shadrack Guusu, United Purpose, Nigeria
• Becky Tingir, Logo LGA WASH unit, Nigeria
• Talia Meeuwissen, Unicef, Kenya
• Jimmy Kariuki, Unicef, Kenya
• Emmah Mwende, National Ministry of Health, Kenya
• Issifu Adama, Unicef, Ghana
• Yahaya Mohammed Donaldson, Yendi municipal, Ghana
• Afou Bengaly, IRC-WASH, Mali
• Jamie Myers, SLH, UK
• Gian Melloni, SLH, UK (facilitator)

Register here 
Le leadership des autorités locales en matière d’assainissement et d’hygiène : expériences et apprentissage  
Jeudi 3 février, 11h00-12h30, heure du Royaume-Uni

Lien Zoom :  us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tNfTne87R269hwIbnTu2Lw

Les approches de renforcement des systèmes WASH mettent souvent l’accent sur l’importance du leadership et de la volonté politique des pouvoirs publiques pour des services équitables et durables. Cependant, il y a des indications plutôt limitées sur comment encourager cette volonté politique, en particulier dans le domaine de l’assainissement et de l’hygiène au niveau des autorités locales, qui souvent ont la responsabilité de la mise en œuvre.

Pour combler cette lacune, en 2020 et 2021 la Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH) a entamé des collaborations avec des autorités locales et des partenaires de développement dans des zones locales du Bénin, Ghana, Guinée, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda et Ouganda. Grâce à une analyse croisée et participative d’études de cas, nous avons examiné ce qui a conduit les autorités locales à prioriser l’assainissement et à l’hygiène, en identifiant des points communs et des connaissances transférables. Une Note d’Apprentissage sur l’expérience du Kenya, du Rwanda et de l’Ouganda est disponible anglais et en français , tandis que la Note d’Apprentissage sur le Bénin, le Ghana, la Guinée et le Nigeria sera sous peu disponible.

Ce webinaire, organisé par la SLH, a pour but de donner une vue d’ensemble de cette recherche et des études de cas, et de stimuler des réflexions sur les leçons apprises et les perspectives futures. Après une première partie au cours de laquelle les participants à la recherche feront des brèves présentations, la seconde partie consistera en un débat avec des partenaires du développement, des autorités locales, la SLH et le public. La traduction simultanée du webinaire sera disponible en français.
Les présentateurs et les panélistes du webinaire :

• Shadrack Guusu, United Purpose, Nigeria
• Becky Tingir, Unité WASH de Logo, Nigeria
• Talia Meeuwissen, Unicef, Kenya
• Jimmy Kariuki, Unicef, Kenya
• Emmah Mwende, Ministère national de la santé, Kenya
• Issifu Adama, Unicef, Ghana
• Yahaya Mohammed Donaldson, municipalité de Yendi, Ghana
• Afou Bengaly, IRC-WASH, Mali
• Jamie Myers, SLH, Royaume-Uni
• Gian Melloni, SLH, Royaume-Uni (facilitateur)

Register here

Many thanks 
Elaine

Dear all,

In case you missed SLH at AfricaSan6 conference (23rd November 2021), you can watch the webinar recording here

SLH facilitated this free online session on how to galvanise and sustain support of local
governments for sanitation and hygiene (1hr 27mins)

The session builds on the work of SLH with government representatives and development partners from local areas in East and West Africa in 2020-2021.

Many thanks
Elaine

Dear all,

At the AfricaSan6 conference 2021, the SanitationLearning Hub are facilitating this free online session on how to galvanise and sustain support of local governments for sanitation and hygiene.

Tuesday 23rd November 2-3.30pm (Nigeria time) 1-2.30pm (UK time)

In the session panellists will share concrete examples of local government leadership mainly from West Africa, looking at what leads to prioritisation of sanitation and hygiene, and identifying commonalities and transferable knowledge.

The session builds on the work of the Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH) with government representatives and development partners from local areas in East and West Africa in 2020-2021.

Panellists and presenters:
* Afou Chantal Bengaly (IRC-WASH, Mali)
* Shadrack Guusu (United Purpose, Nigeria)
* Will Tillet  (United Purpose, UK) TBC
* Firmin Akpako (Helvetas, Benin)
* Antoine Kocher (Helvetas, Benin) TBC
* Issifu Adama (UNICEF, Ghana)
* Nana Kobea-Bonso (University for Development Studies, Ghana)
* Rashida Mohammed (Yendi Municipal, Ghana)

Register for Session here

Hope to see you there.

Best wishes
Elaine

Hi everyone, 

We have now published a French translation of our learning brief, available to download here:  sanitationlearninghub.org/resource/renfo...zone-administrative/

Please share with French-speaking colleagues!

Thanks,

Alice

Hi everyone, 

Jamie Myers has recently presented this work at WEDC 42:



We have also just published the case studies relating to this work, available via the links below:

A Holistic Approach to Accelerated Attainment of Open-Defecation Free Status in Moyo District

How Sanitation and Hygiene Champions Emerged in Siaya County

Making Sanitation and Hygiene a Human Security Issue: The case of Nyamagabe District, Rwanda

Thanks and best wishes,

Alice

Hi Paresh, 

Thanks for your message!

The case studies will be published shortly and we’re planning on presenting two related papers on our process and findings at the WEDC
conference.

A longer paper has been submitted to a journal and we can discuss details by email if that’s useful (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

We will be sure to comment on this post when the case studies are published and the presentation details confirmed.

Best wishes, 

Alice

Thanks Alice for posting this learning paper.

As the paper highlights, there are a lot of examples of and therefore lessons available to support at the national levels and very little for sub-national level, the very arena of sanitation and hygiene (H&S) interventions across the Global South. The key building blocks identified for strengthening systems at the sub-national levels are

1. Increasing political will and supporting leadership
2. Local government resource allocation (financial and human) 
3. Government-led monitoring, reporting and data use
4. Leaving no one behind

These blocks seem to partly agree with the enabling environment framework  as well as the recently modified  city service delivery assessment  framework. 

The emerging lessons, especially those related to stakeholder analysis and ensuring political commitment, and setting up and sustaining monitoring systems will be useful across geographies and for diverse WASH interventions.
 
Is a longer version of this paper planned? Or are the reports of individual case studies available? It would be a good idea to also make them available.  

Regards
paresh

Dear awebbslh

This is a very essential and timely initiative as local level initiatives go a long way in strengthening sanitation and health at community level and in aligning them with the national programs while partnering with NGOs in the field. HIghlighting and sharing such initiatives will be very useful in realizing our dream of safe sanitation and health for all.

Warm regards G Kondala Rao

Following widespread decentralisation reforms, including across Africa, responsibility for S&H often sits with sub-national governments.

For some time, local government leadership has been recognised as key to ensuring sustainability and scale and it is an important component of the emerging use of systems strengthening approaches in the S&H sector

From late 2020 to early 2021, the Sanitation Learning Hub collaborated with local government actors and development partners from three sub-national areas to explore ways of increasing local government leadership and prioritisation of sanitation and hygiene (S&H) to drive progress towards area-wide S&H.

It is hoped that this work will provide practical experiences to contribute to this thinking.

Case studies were developed to capture local government and development partners’ experiences supporting sub-national governments increase their leadership and prioritisation of S&H in Siaya County (Kenya, with UNICEF),
Nyamagabe District (Rwanda, with WaterAid) and Moyo District (Uganda, with WSSCC), all of which have seen progress in recent years.

The cases were then explored through three online workshops with staff from the local governments, central government ministries and development partners involved to review experiences and identify levers and blockages to change.

This document presents key findings from this process.

Download the brief here:  sanitationlearninghub.org/resource/stren...itation-and-hygiene/

You can read more about our process of doing this work online here:  sanitationlearninghub.org/2021/06/04/tra...o-an-online-setting/

Thanks,

Alice