Below are the SPLASHNOTES from the integration workshops that were held at the World Bank on World Water Day. We will be posting the video from the event at the World Bank that featured Secretary of State Clinton and World Bank President Zoellick on the blog soon. Check back to see the whole event!   

Integrating Advocacy to Improve Access to Nutrition, Safe Water and Health 

On World Water Day more than 30 representatives from the nutrition, health and WASH communities came together for a working group about better integration of these three program areas. During the working group, small discussions were held on how to engage with U.S. policymakers, how to work with the private sector on advocacy, how to promote in-country buy in for integration, how to foster CSO/NGO involvement and how to work with donors on integrated programming. The main points for discussion and follow up are listed below:

• There are opportunities to make water interventions part of nutrition and HIV/AIDS assessment counseling and programs. NGOs need to collaborate and not compete and host countries must demonstrate a desire to support the integrated programming.
• Donors need to place stipulations and demands for program integration.
• Channels for communication and a repository for success stories of integrated programming are needed. In having success stories, statistics and data to share, a better case can be made to donors for integrated programming.
• There is a need for central messaging points and communications strategies that can be used by donors, advocacy groups, implementers and governments alike. They need to be centralized, simple, defensible and cogent.
• NGOs need to communicate to policymakers and USG agencies to determine what kind of joint programming is realistic.
• The communities that need WASH are typically those that need other basic services. High level communication is needed to ensure that WASH is considered with health and nutrition.
• There is an opportunity to capitalize on joint messaging during World Water Day, International Women’s Day, World AIDS Day and World Food Day. Each presents an opportunity to provide communications on the inter-linkages between these four areas on an annual basis. 

WASH & Healthy Ecosystems: Advancing Freshwater Management Through WASH

Representatives from more than 30 organizations from the environmental conservation and WASH sectors came together for a working group to discuss advancing freshwater management through integrated WASH programming. The working group consisted of presentations from several of the groups and ended with an open question and answer session. The main points from the presentations and concluding thoughts are listed below:

• Water issues tend to be more about competing for different types of water uses instead of cooperating to protect the resource, expressing the importance of integrating natural resource management with WASH.
• Using watershed management as a framework when planning WASH programs will also positively affect domestic use, productive use and emergency response use of water resources.
• Securing a healthy environment also incorporates a healthy community. WASH interventions and freshwater biodiversity as source of food are prime examples of the connections between ecosystems and human health.
• An innovative solution to protect nature, people and water is to attract investments through water funds.
• Communities are needed to help communicate the message about why integration of WASH and environmental conservation is important to save human lives among all stakeholders, particularly those on Capitol Hill.

Concluding Thoughts

• Why aren’t more implementing organizations working with conservation organizations?
• The barrier often is due to a lack of funding for integrated programs, not a lack of interest 
  
  • There is a need for a common voice between both sectors to collectively raise awareness and ultimately, more funds for integrated programs.  
• Donors should consider investing in urban infrastructure to reduce pollution from lack of sanitation while also providing access to water and sanitation facilities in urban areas.
• Finally, conservation and WASH can go hand-in-hand – securing environmental services also improves the community’s livelihood.

Breaking the Silos: Aligning the WASH and Education Agendas

Representatives from over 25 education, health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) organizations came together to discuss WASH programming as it relates to education and how to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of WASH in schools.  Stakeholders from the education and health sectors gave presentations on their experience with WASH and education and the group discussed ways to work together more effectively to help children around the world.  Some notable discussion points included:  

• Reasons the group identified for why it is important to support WASH in Schools
  • Changing behaviors and norms
  • Working in the school as well as in the community
  • Attention to girls
  • Promoting an enabling environment that contributes to project success and sustainability
  • Including monitoring both for outcomes and for sustainability
• Reasons the group identified for why it is important to support WASH in schools for girls
  • Increases access to private latrines, which are more important for girls after puberty
  • Helps to ensure privacy and safety
  • Lessens household responsibilities (particularly water collection)
  • Reduces community disease burden and the burden on girls for taking care of the sick
  • Impacts the poorest of the poor girls most
    • As the degree of poverty increases, so does the gap in attendance rates between boys and girls
• Breaking down the “silos” of WASH and Education
  • Integrated programming tends to be more effective
  • Small, doable actions can have a significant impact on educational outcomes
    • Encouraging handwashing, installing tippy taps, putting locks on latrine doors, etc.
  • Conversations like the one held today help to break down those silos and promote cooperation among the various development sectors. 
  • The integration message should include more than only WASH and conservation, it should also consider job generation, sustainability, etc. in programming.