In 2000, the Second Community Water and Sanitation Project (CWSP2) was initiated with support of a World Bank IDA credit of US$21.9 million. The project built on lessons learned from the first Community Water and Sanitation Project (CWSP1) and adopted a large-scale decentralization approach in the planning, implementation and management of water supply and sanitation (WSS) services inGhana. At the end of the project in 2004, nearly 800,000 people in rural communities were served with potable water and nearly 6,000 household and 440 schools were provided with latrines.   Â
Second community water and sanitation project The development objective of the CWSP2 was to increase access and achieve effective and sustained use of improved community WSS services in villages and small towns in four regions in Ghana.CPWS2 provided grants to communities and schools through their District Assemblies to construct WSS facilities.
Population: 21.1 million Urban: 45% Rural: 55% Annual Growth Rate: 1.8% Life expectancy: 54.1 years
Area: 238,500 km2 GNI per capita: $380 USD Below Poverty Line: 39.5% HDI Ranking: 138 of 177 Improved Water: 79% Improved Sanitation: 58%
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Community ownership and management Under the project, communities submitted proposals to their respective District Assemblies (DAs), which went through a process of appraisal before providing the proposed facilities. This demand-driven approach provided a good basis for strengthening communities’ ownership and management as well as sustainable operation and maintenance.
Technical assistance and community development activities for public, private and civil society entities ensured adequate implementation capacity in critical areas such as procurement and financial management, planning, monitoring and evaluation, project and contract management. Water and Sanitation Committees (WATSANs) were set up to engage actively with NGOs, private sector providers and the DAs in all stages of the subproject to make informed choices on appropriate levels of service. The WATSANs had a gender-balanced membership.
 Type of Provider
#
 Latrine Artisans
 498
 HandDug Well Contractors
19
 Area Mechanics
35
 Small Town Operators
2
 TotalÂ
554Â
Decentralized delivery mechanisms An important feature of the project was the decentralized approach to rural WSS services delivery which placed Districts in the driving seat of implementation. Districts are able to respond more effectively to the local needs. However, at the start of the project the implementation capacity was relatively weak. District Assemblies (DAs) tended to select more communities for subprojects than they could possibly support in a given period of time. This created high expectations among communities. Â
This drew the attention to the need to strengthen the planning capacity at the district level. A learning-by-doing approach to capacity building was adopted, centered on the operationalization of planning tools, such as the Annual District Water and Sanitation Plan. The central Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) provided a well-coordinated program of capacity building and strong follow-up support and Technical Assistance. The learning curve for the Districts was steep, and the approach eventually resulted in stronger local capacity for service delivery.
Quantity
Pre-selected Communities
 3,292
Submitted Acceptable Community Proposals
 2,963
Boreholes
 2,723
Hand Dug Wells
 57
Small Town System Rehabilitations
 9
Household Latrines
 5,818
School Latrines
 440
Increasing access In total, CWSP2 provided water supply services to 794,900 people and latrines to 5,814 household and 440 schools (see table). Over 2,000 communities were assisted in this project and managed to adequately use and maintain their water facilities. All these communities participated in the planning, proposal formulation, implementation and management of their facilities.Â
Developed sector capacity CWSP2 provided training to over 500 service providers which operated at the district or the community level (see table). Training of DAs, private sector, and NGOs was conducted to ensure a strong long-term delivery of goods, equipment and services to communities. About 120 DA staff received various forms of training ranging from computer literacy and financial management coaching to supervision of latrine and hand dug well construction.Â
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Integrating hygiene promotion CWSP2 emphasized the integration of WSS hardware with hygiene promotion. In 2001, CSWA launched the Ghana Truly Clean Hands campaign as part of the global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing Initiative.
The national campaign sought to prevent diarrhea-related illness and death by promoting the practice of handwashing with soap at critical times. It targeted mothers and care givers of children under 5, and school aged children.The campaign yielded success as women and children adopted sound hygiene practices.
CWSP2 contributed considerably to the Government’s national decentralization and poverty reduction agenda. 42 Districts out of a total of 135 Districts in Ghana were actively engaged in the project.CWSP2 showed that decentralized delivery of WSS has the potential for scaling up access. It showed a strong district and community ownership. It empowered communities and districts to plan, prepare, and execute their own rural water supply and sanitation programs.
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In 2004, CWSP2 was followed by another IDA credit targeting small towns. An estimated 32% of the population in Ghana live in small towns – a figure likely to increase due to urbanization. The US$26 million Ghana Small Town Water Supply and Sanitation project supports the government of Ghana in its goal to extend the access to sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities in towns. Â
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The World Bank is actively collaborating with other development partners in the sector towards harmonization in the water sector in Ghana including the adoption of a demand-driven district-based approach. This approach proved to be very successful in the delivery of water and sanitation facilities through ensuring sustainability and the sense of commitment and ownership of beneficiaries.
RSS