Sanitation and Water for All

A number of water and sanitation stakeholders first conceptualised SWA in 2006 to improve access to sanitation and drinking water following the release of two publications:

• The Human Development Report Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis,[4] highlights the urgency for key donors and development partners to “provide an institutional point for international efforts to mobilize resources, build capacity and—above all—galvanize political action by putting water and sanitation in a more central position on the development agenda.”
• The UK Department for International Development (DFID)[5] report entitled “Why we need a global action plan on water and sanitation” .

In 2007, DFID reiterated its call for a better WASH sector coordination and the need for a Global Action Plan based “Five Ones”:[6]

1. one annual global monitoring report;
2. one high level global Ministerial Meeting on water;
3. at country level, one national plan for water and sanitation;
4. one coordinating body;
5. and activities of the United Nations (UN) agencies in water and sanitation to be coordinated by one lead UN body under the UNDP country plan .

In 2008, DFID, the Dutch Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), other donors and developing country governments officially agreed to create a Global Framework for Action on Sanitation and Water Supply (GF4A),[7] which was launched at a side-event during the UN MDG High-Level Event.[8]

In April 2010, the partners organized the first high-level meeting in Washington, D.C., US, and developing countries and donors tabled commitments to improve sanitation and water.[9] In September 2010, under a new name – Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) – the new partnership was formalized with an agreed governing document, an elected steering committee and a secretariat.[10]

SWA's partners are categorized into six different constituencies. Each constituency is represented on the steering committee, which holds decision-making authority for the partnership.[11]

Government Partners (Governments that are supporting their own domestic implementation of the objectives of SWA)[12]

External Support Agencies (multilateral partners, donor partners and development banks)[13]

• African Development Bank (AfDB)
• AMCOW
• Australia
• Austria
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)
• France
• Germany
• Global Water Operators' Partnership Alliance (GWOPA)
• Japan
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United States
• Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA)
• Water and Sanitation Program at the World Bank (WSP)
• Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)
• World Bank

Civil Society (non-profit organizations or networks active at national, international or regional levels that supporting SWA’s objectives)[14]

• African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW)
• African Water Association (AfWA)
• Akvo Foundation
• Alliance for Water and Sanitation Revolution In Africa
• Arab Water Council (AWC)
• Association des Nations Unies de Cote d'Ivoire (ANU-CI)
• Association Nationale pour la Promotion de l’éducation et la Culture (ANPEC)
• Bar Association Arifwala
• CARE (relief agency)
• Children and Young People Living for Peace
• Diamer Poverty Alleviation Program (DPAP)
• Emerging Leadership Initiatives
• End Water Poverty (EWP)
• Fantsuam Foundation
• Fast Rural Development Program
• Foundation for Urban & Rural Development (FURD)
• Freshwater - Malawi
• Freshwater Action Network – Central America (FANCA)
• Freshwater Action Network Mexico (FAN-Mex)
• Freshwater Action Network South Asia (FANSA)
• Global Water Challenge (GWC)
• Global Water Partnership (GWP)
• Human Initiative Network (HIN)
• Human Resource Development Society (HRDS)
• Initiative: Eau
• Institute of Sustainable Development (ISD)
• International Centre for Water Management Services (CEWAS)
• International Water Association (IWA)
• La Confederación Latinoamericana de Organizaciones Comunitarias de Servicios de Agua y Saneamiento (CLOCSAS)
• Millennium Water Alliance (MWA)
• Nirman Foundation
• One Drop
• People Serving Girls At Risk
• Plan USA
• Population Services International (PSI)
• Portuguese Water Partnership (PWP)
• Ravi Sustainable WASH Development Organization
• Roshni Development Organization
• Rujewa Integrated Efforts to Fight Poverty (RIEFP)
• Sadayanodai Ilaignar Narpani Mandram (SINAM)
• Shine Africa Foundation-Teso (SAF-TESO)
• Shohratgarh Environmental Society (SES)
• Sindhica Reforms Society Pakistan
• The Coastal Rural and Urban Poor Development Association (CRUPDA)
• Udyama
• United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA)
• WASH United
• Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP)
• Water for People
• Younglink Foundation
• Youth Association for Development (YAD)
• Zambia WASH Advocacy Network

Research and Learning (academic institutions or agencies or networks with recognized technical and policy expertise and influence, and global and/or regional remit, undertaking or promoting research or learning in support of SWA objectives)[15]

• Emory Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
• Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology (ISF-UTS)
• International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC)
• International Water Centre (IWC)
• Laboratório de Gestão Ambiental
• Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil
• SKAT Foundation
• SNV
• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
• Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
• Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG)
• The Water Institute at UNC
• United Nations University (UNU)
• Water and Land Resources Center
• Water Research Commission (WRC)
• Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
• WaterAid

Private Sector (for-profit businesses or networks representing business constituencies with recognized commitment, influence and global and/or regional remit that work in support of SWA’s objectives)

• AquaFed
• Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP)
• Banka BioLoo Pvt Ltd
• CEO Water Mandate
• FairWater Foundation
• Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing

Community-Based Organizations (upporting SWA goals at community and household level.)[16] No partners

SWA provides a framework for partners to work globally, regionally and nationally on three priority areas:

1. Increase political prioritization to accelerate progress towards universal access to sustainable sanitation and water
2. Promote the development of a strong evidence base that supports good decision-making
3. Strengthen government-led national planning processes to guide the development and implementation of sustainable sanitation and drinking water services[17]

Working together on these three areas, SWA aims to increase the impact of available resources and strengthen mutual accountability among partners. It is a platform for partners to act on international aid and development effectiveness principles.[18]

The High-Level Commitments Dialogue (HLCD) includes the preparatory process that countries and donors carry out to develop commitments which are later tabled at SWA High- Level Meetings. The commitments are tabled to address bottlenecks holding back progress in water and sanitation. In April 2014, SWA held its third High-Level Meeting attended by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim. The meeting was attended by 20 ministers of finance and 35 ministers responsible for water, sanitation or health. Sixteen donors and development banks also attended the meeting.[19] On behalf of the partnership, the SWA Secretariat monitors these commitments and issues a report on progress made.[20]

Sanitation and Water for All is composed of a high-level chair, a steering committee led by an Executive Chair, the partners themselves and a Secretariat.

The partnership, through its constituencies, elects the steering committee, who takes overall responsibility for strategic leadership of SWA and elects the SWA executive chair.

The chair provides leadership to SWA, and engages politicians and high-level decision-makers on behalf of the partnership. At the Partnership Meeting of November 2015, the Hon. Mr. Kevin Rudd has been appointed as chair. He replaces H. E. Hon. John A. Kufuor, former president of Ghana, who is standing down, having led SWA since its founding in 2010.[21]

In September 2018, the Portuguese lawyer Catarina de Albuquerque was appointed Chief Executive Officer.[22]

The secretariat supports the functioning of the partnership[11]

• SWA Official website
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