Civil Society Organisations working to deliver sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services in the Pacific

Approximately 90 representatives from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), key change agents, local governments, donors and other stakeholders gathered at the Australian Aid-funded CS WASH Fund Pacific Regional Learning Event (PARLE) in November 2015 to explore how to best deliver sustainable WASH services in the region.

The key objectives of the event were to:

1. Improve the effectiveness and sustainability of WASH projects within the Fund by facilitating knowledge exchange and learning;
2. Strengthen relationships between CSOs, local government and other change agents to extend specific areas for collaboration and sharing; and
3. Provide a forum to build the Pacific WASH community of practice within the Fund, and learn from and share with the wider WASH sector.

The Pacific context presents particular challenges to WASH service delivery as access to resources is constrained, communities and economies are geographically isolated and institutional capacity is typically low. Models and strategies for CSOs to strengthen and complement the WASH enabling environment, from various levels of government, to private sector and supply chains were considered at the PARLE. The event focussed particularly on: Schools WASH; Behaviour change for sustainable WASH; and; Working effectively with the enabling environment.

The event's four-day program, facilitated by Krissy Nicholson, Ross Kidd and Bronwyn Powell, CS WASH Fund Management Facility (FMF) Knowledge and Learning Manager, included an open day presentations by key dignitaries and thematic discussions, workshop sessions and field trips to local informal communities and schools. The following provides access to presentations given at the event. 

Fantastic discussions around some serious challenges were had by participants, and these lessons and reflections have been captured in the Synthesis Report.

Program 

4 day program

Open day program

Presentations 

Day 1 - Open Day 

Keynote: WASH, behaviour change & innovative approaches in the Pacific, Timor and Africa
Ross Kidd, WASH Facilitator

Pacific Regional Learning Event Objectives
Bronwyn Powell, CS WASH FMF

Regional persective on WASH trends and challenges
Marc Overmars, UNICEF Pacific and Rhonda Robinson, South Pacific Commission

Adapting WASH to climate change threats in the Pacific
Dr Wade Hadwen, Griffith University

Participatory action research: How can it contribute to WASH marketing exchanges in peri-urban informal settlements
Dani Barrington, Monash University/IWC

Mainstreaming gender in water and sanitation provision
Misileti Masoe-Satuala, Pacific Water and Wastes Association

WASH in the Australian Aid Program
Anne Joselin, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Thematic Sessions

Embedding disability inclusion in WASH programming
Kevin Akike, PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons, Kathryn James, CBM Australia and George Nakel, World Vision PNG

Working with the enabling environment at the national, provincial and community level
Samuel Cleary and Eileen Tugum, WaterAid PNG

Healthy Islands concept
Segela Gagole, World Vision PNG

Piloting Menstrual Hygiene Management in School WASH in rural Timor-Leste
Novi Mau, WaterAid

Western Pacific Sanitation Marketing and Innovation Program
Patrick Topital, Live & Learn Environmental Education and Regina Souter, IWC

Building WASH resilience in Vanuatu - Experiences from Cyclone Pam
Simione Tavoa and Rob Hughes, Live & Learn Environmental Education

Day 2 - Workshops

Workshop handout: Hygiene and sanitation behaviour change
Ross Kidd, WASH Facilitator

Workshop handout: Schools WASH
Krissy Nicholson, WASH Facilitator

Day 3 - Field visits 

Informal settlement field trip: Sanitation in Lami zone summary
Live and Learn Environmental Education, Fiji

Day 4

WASH Communities of Practice in the CS WASH Fund
Bronwyn Powell, Knowledge and Learning Manager, CS WASH Fund Management Facility

Strategy Mapping Presentation
Strategy Mapping Spectrum
Paul Tyndale-Biscoe and Bruce Bailey, CS WASH Fund Monitoring, Evaluation and Review Panel

For further information contact Bronwyn Powell at the CS WASH Fund Management Facility (cswashfundonline@thepalladiumgroup.com).