[ Sri Lanka North East Water And Sanitation and Hygiene Project TABLE OF CONTENTS SRI LANKA NORTH EAST WATER AND SANITATION AND HYGIENE PROJECT 1.1 THE CASE FOR WATER AND SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN NE SRI LANKA……..….……........6 1.2 PROJECT DESIGN AND OBJECTIVES……………………………………………..…………...........8 1.3 RESULTS TO DATE………………………………………..…………..……………………….............12 1.4 FINANCIAL SUMMARY…………………………………………………..……………………..........16 1.4.1ALLOCATIONS……………………………………………..…………………..……………............16 1.4.2 DISBURSEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS……………………………………….……………........16 1.5 PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSAID……………………………………………..….………………............17 This is an extract from the first Annual Report of the AusAID-World Bank Partnership for South Asia Umbrella Trust Fund (UTF). To read and download the complete report visit www.PartnershipForSouthAsia.com. The report has been prepared by the PFSA Secretariat led by Tara Sharafudeen, Program Manager and main author. Nicola Vesco, Communications Specialist worked on the design and Nishtha Mehta, Knowledge Specialist assisted with the writing and editing of the report. Information for this section was also provided by the task leader Shideh Hadian. PHOTO CREDITS SL-NE-WASH SECTION COVER: DOMINIC SANSONI/WORLD BANK PHOTO CREDITS/AKNOWLEDGMENTS BACKGROUND: CURT CARNEMARK/WORLD BANK BACKGROUND HIGHLIGHT: DAVID WALDORF/WORLD BANK 1.1 THE CASE FOR WATER AND SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN NORTH EAST SRI LANKA Sri Lanka’s development, even through the long pe- The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals riod of conflict, has been impressive. Since the end of (MDGs) confirm the critical role of water supply and 26 years of conflict in the northern province in 2009, sanitation (WSS) in sustainable development and (the conflict in the eastern province ended in 2007), poverty alleviation. The health, environmental, and the country is on its way to achieving middle-income socio-economic benefits that result from improved status. Growth however has been uneven and not access to WSS is a compelling argument for greater inclusive, as lagging regions and communities have investment in the sector. The poor gain directly from not shared in this prosperity to the same extent as improved access to basic water and sanitation ser- the leading areas. The south-western region has ben- vices through improved health, averted health care efitted from economic growth while the north and costs, and time saved. Investing in WSS makes busi- east, which have been devastated by civil war and ness sense as it also contributes to increased produc- natural disasters, are still lagging behind. Income per tivity. Meeting the MDG for WSS globally would mean capita in the Eastern and Northern provinces is al- an annual gain of 322 million working days, valued at most 50% less than in the Western Province, which $750 million. alone contributes over 50% of the country’s GDP. In- dicators on poverty, income, health, education, and The Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) Regional MDG accessibility to economic infrastructure and services (2009-10) reports that Sri Lanka is on track to meet its show significant disparities between the North, Cen- water supply targets and is an early achiever of sani- tral, and South-West provinces. Another indicator of tation targets. In the rural areas improved or piped skewed growth is the fact that poverty is concen- water coverage was 88% while sanitation coverage trated in rural areas, with 15.7% of population consid- was 92% in 2008. However, the data does not include ered poor, compared to 6.7 % in urban areas (World information on many parts of the north and east. Bank 2011). Reducing regional disparities is a priority An assessment of the condition of returnees in the of the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). Northern Province in early 2010 reported high levels of damage to basic infrastructure. In the assessment There is an urgent need to support reconstruction area covering 13,300 water sources, 52% were not in the post conflict areas, particularly as the scaling working and 38% were damaged or contaminated. down of humanitarian activities further impacts the In addition almost 25,000 toilets were needed. Of the access to infrastructure and services. in the country. existing facilities only 587 were functional and 2,880 AusAID’s Country Strategy for Sri Lanka (2011-2015) needed repair (IOM, 2010). In spite of Sri Lanka’s bet- stresses inclusive development for vulnerable peo- ter performance on development indicators in com- ple in lagging regions. Key sectoral priorities include parison to other South Asian countries, the quality of recovery of conflict affected areas and rehabilita- water and sanitation service delivery declines rapidly tion of infrastructure, sustainable livelihoods and im- for communities in small towns and rural areas. The proved access to services, and social protection. The northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka have World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (2009-12) 85% of their population living in rural areas compared stressed the need to create opportunities for equita- to the national average of 72%. These provinces ble growth and economic development, especially have also suffered prolonged under-investment in in the lagging regions. Other objectives include ac- infrastructure due to conflict. In addition to this, they celerating economic growth and ensuring effective also fall in the dry zone, which limits their access to and accountable service delivery. natural sources of water. 6 6 The World Bank had financed the North East Hous- that come for improved access to housing. The Na- ing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP), from 2004 tional Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), to 2011 through which houses were constructed for which is entrusted with the provision of water supply 50,000 families. The damage verification surveys con- in the country, has identified the lack of access to ducted by the Bank, revealed that the project villag- water as an urgent issue to be addressed. There has es had sustained damages to community infrastruc- also been an increasing demand from communities ture, including WSS. The lack of safe drinking water for reliable and quality water supply in the project and sanitation has limited the socio-economic gains and nearby areas. 7 Pilot Project Districts 1.2 PROJECT DESIGN AND OBJECTIVES It was in this background that the Sri Lanka North are responsible for operating and maintaining the East Water and Sanitation and Hygiene Project (SL- schemes under the supervision of the PS. This institu- NE WASH) was conceived with AusAID’s support. This tional model is also aligned with GoSL’s Rural Water project became operational on November 29, 2011. Policy and their goal of strengthening local govern- The project goal is to provide sustainable piped wa- ments to oversee the delivery of services. Concerted ter to a select number of conflict affected rural com- efforts were to be made to enhance the capacity of munities within the project area of NEHRP on a pilot the PS and the rural communities, ensuring a more basis. Any intervention in the north and east has to be sustainable, accountable, and efficient service de- designed taking into account the transition from a livery mechanism. conflict to a post-conflict society, where families and communities are still socially fragmented and eco- The development objective of the project is to in- nomically deprived. The sustainable development crease safe and sustainable piped water supply and of lagging regions requires community participa- sanitation to complement post-conflict housing re- tion, empowerment, and ownership. This is especially construction for select communities in two districts. true in the north and east where communities had The project would contribute to the improvement of no voice during the long period of conflict. Allowing hygiene practices and the quality of life of returnees. communities that have long been deprived of voice, It would test viable institutional models for WASH ser- a role in state- building and the opportunity to hold vice delivery and generate lessons for a possible scale service providers accountable is an important as- up. It was expected that women would benefit more pect of peace-building efforts in post-conflict areas. from access, as they bear the responsibility of collec- Northern Sri Lanka has a high proportion of female- tion and are the largest consumers of water in house- headed households and their empowerment is also holds for food preparation, maintaining a hygienic vital to sustainable poverty reduction in the region. environment, caring for the sick, cleaning, waste disposal and washing. It would also impact their per- Appropriate institutional arrangements that define sonal health and hygiene in a positive way. Mannar the accountability relationships between the state, district in the Northern Province and Trincomalee dis- service provider, and communities had to thus be in- trict in the Eastern Province were selected as the pilot corporated into the project design. It was decided zones. Among the beneficiaries of NEHRP, 12% house- that the pilot would be implemented by the NWSDB holds in Mannar district and 5% in Trincomalee district as the service provider in consultation with the local were women-headed households. It was expected governments (Pradeshiya Sabhas or PS) and the Wa- that women headed households would be among ter Users Association (WUA) that represent consum- the main beneficiaries of the pilot. ers. The WUAs are key stakeholders because they 8 The pilot has three components: 1 - Provision of Water Supply and Sanitation: Under this 2 - Capacity Building: Under the second component, component, the project is financing the capital costs technical assistance (TA) and capacity building is for water supply provision in nine sub-projects. Each provided to the NWSDB’s local units, PSs and WUAs associated WUA selects the level of service based on for the implementation of the pilot. It strengthens the affordability and technical feasibility from a range of capacity of the PS for planning for and monitoring scalable technical options. Around 3,000 households local water supply systems in partnership with WUAs. in the two districts are to be connected by the end of It helps set up WUAs and provides training to enable the pilot. The design provides for future expansion that them to take on project management responsibilities could accommodate an additional 20% of house- and O&M. Training for sanitation and hygiene aware- holds. The WUA are to be trained and made responsi- ness is another key feature of the capacity building ble for operation and maintenance (O&M) of the sys- efforts. This includes health and environment educa- tem by the NWSDB in consultation with the PS. A 50% tion for communities to improve hygiene and sanita- subsidy towards the cost of connection is offered and tion practices. the balance is recovered in monthly instalments by adding the charges to the water bills of the first year. 3 - Project Management: This component supports [ ] Tariffs would be structured to cover O&M costs for up NWSDB and PSs for effective implementation of the to 10 years. A Sanitation Incentive Fund (SIF) has been pilot. This includes creation of a Management Infor- set up that is managed and monitored by the PS. A mation System (MIS) for monitoring and evaluation 50% grant and 50% loan is available to all non-NEHRP (M&E), O&M and transfer of information. At the same beneficiaries (NEHRP beneficiaries have already been time, documentation of the pilot with a view to fu- covered) to ensure total sanitation coverage. About ture scale up will be done. The incremental operat- 900 units covering 30% of the population are to be ing costs of project administration by NWSDB are also constructed in the pilot areas. being met. Figure 1 - Progress of Construction Activities Trincomalee District 9 [ ] HIGHLIGHT ADDRESSING GENDER AND DISABILITY ISSUES The project, at every stage from design to implementation, is taking into consideration gender and social inclusion by focusing not only on lagging regions of Sri Lanka but also on the most vulnerable minority groups within these areas. Women interviewed in the project area revealed that they spent an average of 3 to 4 hours a day fetching water. Having reliable and easily accessible piped water would drastically reduce the amount of time dedicated to collecting water. The time freed up can be then allo- cated to more productive activities. This is a critical aspect in the post-conflict areas of the North and East that have a substantial incidence of women-headed households. Women-headed households comprise arguably the most vulnerable group of re- turnees and are among the priority groups targeted by development schemes. A survey conducted in September 2010 by the Jaffna based NGO Center for Wom- en and Development* revealed that the post-conflict northern region had approxi- mately 40,000 female-headed households. Over 50 percent of the women heads of the households surveyed were single parents under 30 years of age supporting their own and extended families. Although up to date statistics are hard to come by due to the number of displaced people, NGOs and government officials estimate that the northern and eastern regions combined are home to some 89,000 war widows, a very high number considering that the conflict displaced more than 280,000 people. As the main users of water in households and initiators of change in hygiene practices, the central role of women in WASH is fundamental for the success of the project. Wom- en hold at least one of the three key positions (Chairperson, Secretary or Treasurer) in the WUA and at least 50% of the executive committee is female. To better monitor and evaluate the gender related benefits of the project, gender disaggregated data is be- ing collected. At the initial stage of the project, a baseline survey was done and it indi- cated that at least 15% of the households in the project area were headed by women. Addressing disability issues is equally important for the social inclusion agenda. In a post- conflict situation there will be larger proportion of disabled people within households whose needs will need to be taken into account. Poverty and disability are intrinsically linked. People with disabilities are more likely to be poor, and this not only increases their social and economic vulnerability, it also limits their access to basic services. Traditional water supply, sanitation and hygiene schemes have marginalized the needs of different- ly-abled people. Policies to address these needs are also lacking. As a result, disabled people face many challenges as they attempt to access WASH services, which have severe health and economic consequences and also impacts their dignity and ability to be self-reliant. The participation of disabled people is necessary for the success of the project. Data has been collected on the number of disabled people in the project com- munities in order to design WSS schemes that address their specific needs. The baseline survey found that 5.5% of all households in the project area included disabled residents. The design of the project has ensured that women headed house-holds form 15% and households with disabled members form 5.4% of the targeted beneficiaries. See Table 1. *Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90429 1.3 RESULTS TO DATE It should be kept in mind that this project is being the lack of contractors in the region and issues with implemented in some of the most vulnerable villages finding a good water source for some sub-projects. in the region in a challenging post-conflict environ- Flooding in the project areas also delayed construc- ment. Aided by strong community mobilization and tion for some time. There has been some escalation participation, the project is on target to meet all its in costs due to several reasons, including difficulties objectives by the closing date of June 2014. Active in finding contractors in some sub-project areas; an participation of the community is fundamental to increase in the cost of fuel and materials; demand- achieving sustainable outcomes from this interven- pull inflation due to the end of conflict and a con- tion. In the 16 months since the project became op- struction boom. Inadequate electric supply in the erational there has been satisfactory progress on all project areas necessitated payments to the Central three components. The safeguards, financial man- Electricity Board for transformers. The government agement, and procurement aspects were rated sat- has agreed to meet the costs of any escalation. This isfactory by the mid-term review (MTR) conducted reflects their commitment to the project and to pro- in December 2012. There was an initial delay in start- viding better services for the underserved in these ing the construction of water supply schemes due to lagging provinces. Provision of Water and Sanitation All 9 water supply sub-projects, covering 16 villages, 10 in Mannar and 6 in Trincomalee district, have been contracted out and are under construction. The sub-projects were reduced from 12 to 9 since one commu- nity did not have a water source that could be easily accessed, another joined an ADB funded program, and yet another opted out. The sub-projects will provide access to 2,303 households. However, given the continuing migration into the area, which is expected to accelerate as water supply improves, the scheme also has built-in extra capacity. Looking at the population growth rate and new resettlement in the region, it is expected that the schemes will in the final analysis cover 4,488 households. This is a 50% increase over the figure of 3,000 set out in the Concept Note. The project is also providing toilets in the sub-project areas to households and to local schools. The Sanitation Revolving Fund is disbursing well. The amount of grant and loan per household has been in- creased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000 after extensive consultations with beneficiaries as the original amount was found to be inadequate to build a quality toilet. The $90,000 in the fund has been topped up by another $19, 166 from the government to meet the additional costs. Two villages that were dropped from the water supply schemes were included in the sanitation program, as they were a part of the initial social mobilization and their expectations for assistance had already been raised. A baseline survey has been conducted to identify the potential beneficiaries. Water User Associations are registered in all subproject areas and they all have accounts opened in commercial banks to allow for the transfer of sanitation grants to WUAs. Out of the 2,809 households covered under the sanitation program, 14.7% are female-headed households and 5.4% have disabled members. The sanitation program also covers 27 sanitation facilities in 11 schools in the scheme area that are being constructed by the School Development Society. 12 Table 1 - SL-NE-WASH Beneficiaries and Social Vulnerability Table 1: SL NE WASH – Beneficiaries and Social Vulnerability HH WITH DISABLED NAME OF SUB PROJECT NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS FEMALE HEADED HH MEMBERS 1   BAKMEEGAMA*   262   45   25   2   KILLIVEDDY   209   71   20   3   MAHADIVULWEWA   264   63   20   4   NAVATCHOLAI   281   40   7   5   NEELAPOLA*   244   30   13   6   NAMALWATTE   210   21   3   TOTAL  (A)   1,470   270   88   1   KONDACHCHI   333   20   9   2   KOOLANKULAM   257   0   10   3     175   32   10   4   PALAMPIDDY   267   30   29   5   THALAIMANNAR   307   60   7   TOTAL  (B)   1,339   142   65   TOTAL  FOR  2  DISTRICTS  (A+B)   2,809   412   153   %  OF  TOTAL  HH   100%   14.70%   5.40%   *excluded from water supply schemes * excluded from water supply schemes Technical Assistance and Capacity Building The capacity constraints of PSs and communities have been identified and steps are being taken to strengthen capacity at all levels. The lack of capacity within the communities is being addressed through the creation of specialized WUAs that work closely with the community and provide guidance for operation and mainte- nance of the water supply schemes. Eleven Water Users Associations have been formed and registered with the NWSDB in all sub-project areas including two that are only for sanitation. Over 83% of the households to be covered have already paid for membership of their WUA. This is an impressive result, demonstrating the huge demand for safe water. This number is expected to increase, as more families learn about the social, economic and health benefits of safe drinking water at their doorstep and with growth in population over time. 13 Hygiene, education, and awareness programs are at the heart of the success of any water and sanitation project. This aspect is however, often ignored in projects with more attention being paid to the construction of the hard infrastructure. The project has undertaken an intensive hygiene promotion program to educate communities on the socio-economic costs of lack of sanitation and benefits of good hygiene and improved sanitation. Many innovative learning materials have been prepared. Schools in particular, are being targeted to enhance their hygiene education programs. Families have reported that these programs are very useful for them and for their children. The program includes orientation, preparing an action plan to address hy- giene issues, programs for hygiene promotion and education, posters and materials for hygiene awareness, and discussions/education at community and school levels. The innovative training methods used include street plays for the community and arts competitions in schools. Until January 2013, a total of 39 trainings were organized. A total of 2,300 students (of which 50% are girls) attended 13 hygiene education programs in both districts (6 in Trincomalee and 7 Mannar). Art competitions were also held in 5 schools. The training at school level covered different grade levels, from 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11 grades. At the community level training programs covered 890 people (55% female). There were 12 community awareness programs and training conducted, 6 in each district. In addition, a Training of Trainers (ToT) program for the PS staff and CBOs, and a street play on the importance of sanitation and hygiene were organized. Finally, 7 general training programs covering orien- tation for partners and social mobilization were conducted. These awareness programs will continue to provide a lasting impact resulting in better sanitation and health. See Table 2 for details of the 39 training programs. Project Managament Under this component, two Rural Water Supply (RWS) offices have been set up in the two project districts by NWDSB. These will be permanent offices that will continue to help communities after the pilot is over. Ad- equate staffing has been provided and these units are functional. In order to monitor and evaluate progress against indicators, a Management Information System (MIS) has been created and all progress reports are being generated from this. The progress of water supply schemes and construction of sanitation facilities and all aspects of hygiene awareness and education programs are being captured in the MIS. A results frame- work was also developed for the project at the concept stage. See Annex Section - Results Framework. The baseline survey has been completed. The PMU is now working to include water quality data and to strength- en the documentation process as recommended by the MTR. The project is closely monitored by the Bank. The Bank is supervising the project through desk reviews of prog- ress reports that are sent by the government every two months. In addition, the World Bank team conducts field visits every six months and continues to work closely with the PMU. Two missions, including an MTR, have already taken place and the next mission is planned for May, 2013. 14 Table 2 - SL-NE-WASH Hygiene, Education, and Awareness Programs TARGET TOTAL % OF PEOPLE TRAINED TYPE OF TRAINING AUDIENCE TRAININGS GIRLS/WOMEN  HYGIENE EDUCATION (13) -­‐ 3-5 GRADES SCHOOL 18 2,300 50% -­‐ 6-8 GRADES -­‐ 9-11 GRADES  ART COMPETITIONS (5)  AWARENESS PROGRAMS (12) COMMUNITY 13 890 55%  STREET PLAY (1)  STAFF ORIENTATION (1) GENERAL 8 70 16%  SOCIAL MOBILIZATION OF PARTNERS (7) TOTAL 39 3,260 15 FIGURE 2 - SL-NE-WASH HYGIENE, EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAM 1.4 FINANCIAL SUMMARY 1.4.1 - ALLOCATIONS The entire grant amount of $2.01 million that was to be received by government has already been trans- ferred to GoSL. Allocations have been made against this for construction of the water supply schemes (WS), sanitation incentive grants (SIGs), training (TRG), and incremental operating costs (OC). See Figure 3 for the percentage allocated to each activity. The SIGs are over budget by $19,161. This shortfall is being met by the government as explained above. 1.5% TRGs 4.5% SIGs 4.5% OCs 89.6% WS Figure 3 - Allocations by Activities 1.4.2 - DISBURSEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS This is a recipient executed project and every two months the Bank task team receives a progress update from GoSL. As per the last report in January 2013, 24% of the funds have been disbursed. Table 3 provides details by component. Only 1% of the funds remain uncommitted with more than a year remaining for the project to close. All 9 water supply contracts have been awarded and disbursement is expected to acceler- ate during the next few months as construction picks up. 16 Table 2- SL-NE WASH Funds Disbursed and Committed (USD) as of January 2013 Table 3 - Funds Disbursed and Committed (USD) as of January 2013 *excess amount met by govern DISBURSEMENT COMMITMENT ALLOCATION BALANCE AMOUNT % AMOUNT % 1   WATER  SUPPLY  SCHEMES   1,800,000   297,691   16.5   1,502,309   83.5   0   SANITATION  INCENTIVE   2   90,000   109,161*   121.3   0   0   0   GRANTS   3   TRAINING   30,000   26,313   87.7   0   0   3,687   INCREMENTAL  OPERATING   4   90,000   55,070   61.2   0   0   34,930   COSTS   TOTAL   2,010,000   488,235   24.3   1,502,309   74.7   38,617   *excess amount met by government 1 1.5 PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSAID AusAID as the sole funder of the pilot has participat- informed GoSL that this scale up will not take place ed in all phases of the project, from concept design as originally anticipated due to funding constraints. to the ongoing implementation. Staff from the Co- Given the positive results achieved by the pilot in lombo Post also participated in the recent MTR of the providing access to WASH facilities in post-conflict project. In addition, the Task Team Leader has con- communities within a short time frame, the extent of ducted face-to-face briefings for the staff at the Co- community participation generated it is important to lombo Post to report on progress after every mission. scale up the project without losing the momentum In addition, AusAID has leveraged the Bank’s resourc- that has already generated in these post conflict es, including the expertise of its staff and its long-term communities. The Bank is currently in discussions with relationship with GoSL in the water supply and sani- the government regarding a potential WSS project in tation sector, at little cost. It has also leveraged the Sri Lanka. The partnership between AusAID and the Bank’s NEHRP that provided houses to communities, World Bank for the Sri Lanka North East WASH pilot will which are now benefitting from access to WSS ser- lead to sustainable improvements in the quality of life vices through this project. Initially, the pilot was to be of some of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable populations. scaled up with additional funds in 2013. AusAID has 17