The objectives of the SWAT Service are to increase the quantity and quality of Bank-funded investments in sanitation and hygiene in direct support of the sanitation MDG. The Service also works to maximize the benefits and impact of existing investments, and to better meet the needs of the poor with least access to sanitation in informal urban settlements, rural areas, and small towns. SWAT has an inter-disciplinary approach to the challenge of sanitation and hygiene for the poor, reflected in its consultancy services, and through its contributions to sharing sector knowledge and experience. The service is coordinated by an expert project management team at the Water Anchor in the Energy, Transport and Water Department. Read more about SWAT  Funded by the Water Partnership Program
Activities The Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Advisory Service (SWAT) supports operational staff at the World Bank in expanding and improving the quality of sanitation investments through the following activities:
1. Expert technical assistance to Bank operations and clients for project preparation of sanitation, hygiene and wastewater projects that help achieve MDG goals of improving basic sanitation access to the rural and urban poor (see map below), 2. Expert technical assistance for clients to strengthen implementation of WB funded projects and maximize the benefits and impact on the poor of the approved sanitation, hygiene and wastewater projects, 3. Applied learning and analytical work to support country poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSP) and critical sanitation sector and policy, 4. Preparation and dissemination of guidance in innovative and state-of-the-art approaches to sanitation and hygiene, drawing on both existing documentation of innovation in sanitation and hygiene, and the experience gained during the course of this project. | Strategic technical support services lie at the heart of this service and over half the budget is committed to this activity. Support services contribute substantially to the development of balanced sanitation and hygiene strategies addressing both the basic needs of the poor and the wastewater management issues facing government and utilities. This support can bridge the gap between “strategic thinking”, “investment planning” and “implementation”. Beyond the first priority of developing and strengthening Bank activities in sanitation and hygiene, the service has worked to develop guidance and documentation publications and tools. This work has two simple objectives: 1) to make existing best practice and knowledge readily available to operational staff, clients, and others interested in the sector, and 2) to share more widely the most salient results of the operational experience gained under the technical support activities of this project. |
Examples of Successes to Date Indonesia: 3-fold increase (to US$ 31 million) in rural sanitation and hygiene borrowing by the Ministry of Health as the direct result of consultancy services provided. Preparation of a draft project concept note for a US$ 100 million Urban Sanitation Project Egypt:Technical design of the US$ 115 million Integrated Sanitation & Sewerage Infrastructure Project, and Follow-up software design for hygiene promotion Benin: Inclusion of cross-sectoral action for sanitation and hygiene in a PRSC covering both rural water supply and sanitation, and health leading to larger local and donor budget allocations to hygiene and sanitation. Pakistan: Successful development of guidelines for rapid assessment of the sub-project pipeline of the US $75 million Punjab Municipal Services Project, thus easing a key bottleneck in project implementation. Ecuador: Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the sanitation and hygiene component of current Rural and Small Town project (PRAGUAS I) Applying these lessons in preparation of US$ 14 million sanitation subcomponent of the US$ 42 million Second Rural and Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PRAGUAS II) This web-site represents the second component. The SWAT Team will be grateful for any feed back and ideas for its improvement! |
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