Water and sanitation for health (III)

The evaluation covered the period 1980-9/90. The implementing agency, Camp, Dresser & McKee, has performed extremely well. It has met contract requirements, followed evaluation recommendations, and worked effectively with A.I.D. supervisors, Bureaus and Missions, and a large network of international organizations. The project"s contribution to the fund of knowledge about WS/S and its leadership in the area is unquestioned. The project is also flexible enough to respond to newly emerging directions in WS/S, as A.I.D. programming, prompted by massive urbanization throughout the developing world, begins to change its focus from a rural to a peri-urban and urban one. The most serious problems cannot be addressed by project staff, but must be handled by A.I.D. senior management. Despite A.I.D."s significant investment ($54.8 million) in the project and its predecessor, the Agency continues to lack an effective health policy in the area of water sanitation. Moreover, at its most senior levels, A.I.D. appears to favor a policy tack which depreciates the importance of water and sanitation for health. This contradicts A.I.D."s emphasis on the link between health and the environment, and also weakens its child survival efforts. Thus, there is an urgent need for stronger policy guidance. An action decision is to increase funding to serve more Missions.