Are WASH charities actually effective?

In recent years there has been a huge increase in the number and scope of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focussing on water projects. NGOs are highly-regarded for their flexibility to adapt to local situations and needs by using innovative approaches. They can identify with people, tailor their assistance and can recruit both experts and motivated staff to communicate at all levels, from neighbourhood to government. But while many of these charities may build pumps, toilets and other infrastructure, the actual success of projects may be limited. The altruistic motives behind these charities are often based on the fact that one feels they should donate rather than actually assisting with development. 

There is very little data on NGOs’ results or performance. Whilst researching for this post I found it difficult to find details on the current state of WASH infrastructure in African countries. NGO data is often written by the people involved in the organisations themselves so can be biased and obscure the truth (Lewis). An example of this is charity:water, an NGO based upon transparency with 100% of their donations going straight into WASH projects. However when examining this charity it is unclear how many people have access to clean water as a result of their work. When Anne Moore was researching the charity for her blog she was told ‘Since 2006, we’ve funded 6,994 water projects in 20 countries. What we don’t know and are currently investing in, is technology to tell us in realtime when the pumps are broken or need maintenance’. In my opinion this is surely the most important part of any project: ensuring the maintenance, continuity and success of any infrastructure for many years to come. 

NGOs are often accused of undermining local governments leading to serious tensions. A reliance on non-governmental sources of funding can lead to a negative dependency and doesn’t help the country in the longer term. The Country Assistance Framework (CAF) in Democratic Republic of Congo is an initiative for effective co-ordination between NGOs and government, ensuring the available capacity is put to best use (UNESCO). CAF calls for country-level co-ordination between NGOs and government; this needs to be practical and aimed at improving the understanding of the roles and responsibilities of various actors. UNESCO concludes that national-level philanthropy, NGO subsidies and sponsorship are essential for developing an organised civil society that can deliver MDGs and protect water resources. Developments in a country need to come from the creation of government institutions responsible for each sector which will ensure the long term success of water projects, rather than purely from unaccountable NGOs.

A further problem with NGO involvement in the African WASH sector is their self-interest and imposition of their own agendas. Mozambique, for example, is heavily dependent on donations from the Netherlands. This has led to projects being heavily influenced by Dutch donors and scientists who priorities large-scale users and investors over small-scale farmers. The 30 largest users use 89% of total volume whilst 910 other users 11% (IDS). It is hugely important the priorities of those in need are put first, and altruism does not begin to appear as neo-colonialism. 

The NGO sector also suffers due to a lack of organisation. The sheer number of NGOs within the WASH sector can pose problems. Activities are often scattered throughout many small projects and it is unclear who the individual charities are and what is being done by whom in different areas (UNESCO). This follows from NGOs as self-interested actors not clearly communicating with locals, governments and other NGOs to effectively deliver projects. Coordination is needed at all levels to ensure operations work together to achieve a goal of providing access to water. 

David Damberger, from Engineers without Borders, explains these issues with aid in his TEDx talk; he admits the failures of NGOs and how we can learn from their mistakes.