Accountability to Affected Populations

Identify ways to ensure WASH response's Accountability to Affected Population

Accountability to Affected Population, and in particular Protection aspects, is not considered as a ‘cross cutting issue’ but as a central aspect of the WASH response. It is crucial for partners to design and implement their WASH response in such a way that:

• It has no negative impact on security of beneficiaries
• Beneficiaries are consulted before and during response implementation
• Beneficiaries are provided with a way to feedback on their perception of response quality. 

The Global WASH cluster partners have agreed in 2012 that “2012 GWC WASH Minimum commitments for the safety and dignity of affected population”, part of the wider 2012 GWC WASH and protection tool box, should be respected in all national humanitarian WASH programmes to ensure that the distinct assistance and protection needs of the affected population are met. These commitments, centered on people, aim at ensuring that key issues are taken into consideration by all partners, such as gender, gender based violence, child protection, disability, and age. The respect of these minimum commitments all along the humanitarian programme cycle allows partners to design and implement a participative response. The GWC has recently worked with UNICEF to develop the 2021 GWC WASH Minimum commitments for the safety and dignity of affected population Tool for national humanitarian WASH coordination platforms.

The five minimum commitments are:

1. Consult separately girls, boys, women, and men, including those with disabilities, to ensure that WASH programs are designed so to provide equal access and mitigate incidences of violence;
2. Ensure that girls, boys, women, and men, including those with disabilities have access to appropriate and safe WASH services
3. Ensure that girls, boys, women, and men, including those with disabilities, have access to feedback & complaint mechanisms so that corrective actions can address their specific protection and assistance needs
4. Monitor and evaluate safe and equal access and use of WASH services in WASH projects;
5. Give priority to girls (particularly adolescents) and women’s participation in the consultation process

The SOF should include a specific chapter on protection and accountability, providing guidance to partners on best ways to ensure the respect of the 5 WASH minimum commitments in the local context, and defining how they will be monitored.