WATER FOR AFRICA THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT (WALIS) QUARTERLY REPORT: 1 OCTOBER – 31 DECEMBER, 2015

Agency for International Development's (USAID) latest thinking on achieving transformative improvements in access to clean water and improved sanitation. The program runs from September 25, 2015 to September 24, 2020, and is being implemented by DAI with support from the Training Resources Group (TRG), The Cloudburst Group, and Taoti Creative. WALIS aims to bolster the ability of African leaders, donors, and stakeholders to use existing data and analyses to shape water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) strategies, program plans, and budgets. The objective of WALIS is to improve the capacity of national water sectors to implement national policies, strategies, and plans that will deliver sustainable WASH services consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). WALIS will accomplish this through work across four core tasks, including developing, monitoring, and analyzing sound sector data; engaging in targeted research and pilot activities; strengthening country systems to develop informed policy and engage in sector planning; and increasing the capacity required to support improved collection and use of sector knowledge. The WALIS program will work in selected Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries, including 15 countries in Africa that USAID has prioritized for investments in WASH and agricultural water management. Currently, five countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Tanzania) have either just launched or are about to launch significant new WASH projects, and another four countries (Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda) are developing new WASH projects. WALIS will address challenges in the WASH sector by cultivating and reinforcing a culture of inquiry based on the scientific method. This approach involves an ongoing process of observation, design, testing, and evidence-generation that lends itself to refinement of policies and the generation of tested approaches that can be scaled up for impact. By strengthening the capacity of African regional organizations and their country members to monitor, evaluate, and apply knowledge and data when developing strategies and making programming decisions, WALIS will reinforce a culture of inquiry that delivers improved access to clean water and sanitation. The WALIS Results Framework is presented in Annex A, and the three project Intermediate Results (IRs) include: Strengthened capacity of national and regional institutions to collect and utilize sound sector data; Strengthened capacity of national and regional institutions to develop and implement informed policies and strategies; and Increased capacity of national and regional institutions to apply knowledge and data when developing strategies and making programming decisions.