Non-government organisation engagement in the sanitation sector: opportunities to maximise benefits

摘要

Non-government organisations (NGOs) have long played a role in delivering sanitation services toncommunities in Southeast Asia and Pacific countries, particularly in rural areas. In contrast withnlarge scale infrastructure focused initiatives, NGO programs commonly focus on building linkagesnbetween technical and social realms. Drawing on the breadth and depth of NGO experiences,nthere are opportunities for NGOs to play a greater role in the sanitation sector and to work innpartnership with other actors including utilities and government agencies to ensure bothn‘hardware’ and ‘software’ components of sanitation are built in to project design and delivery tonmaximise community benefits and ensure longer term system sustainability. This paper discussesnthese issues and considers how the contribution of NGOs to the sanitation sector in developingncountries might be enhanced. The paper is based on recent research for the Australian Agencynfor International Development (AusAID) intended to guide investment in the water and sanitationnsectors of Asia and Pacific partner countries, exploring the potential for increased NGOnengagement. The paper presents findings of the research concerning NGO roles and approaches,ndiscusses existing NGO activities in the sanitation sector in Vietnam and Timor Leste andnidentifies strategies for NGOs and for other sector actors including utilities and governmentnagencies to maximise the benefits of NGO engagement in the sanitation sector.