The Advocacy Source Book
by WaterAid is a guide for those working towards ensuring safe drinking
water and sanitation facilities for the poor across the world.
WaterAid, an organisation founded in 1981 by people in British
water industry is committed to improve public health. It works with
local partner organisations in 17 countries in Africa, Asia and the
Pacific region.
Today, when over 1.1 billion people across the globe do not have
access to safe water, it become matter of extreme exigency to meet
people’s rights to sufficient, affordable, accessible, safe water and
sanitation services.
Access to clean water and adequate sanitation are a key to the
achievement of most UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Target 10
of MDG 7 pledges to ‘ensure environmental sustainability’ in
developing countries by reducing by halve the proportion of people
without safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) is linked to achievement of MDGs
like education, combating diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria, reducing
infant mortality and improving maternal health.
Studies reveal that this acute problem cannot just be attributed
to bad practices and inadequately designed programmes. Rather, it is
the entrenched legal, economic, social and political inequalities of
societies which deprive a large population of the basic amenities.
WaterAid through its work has found that there are several
barriers and prejudices that affect people’s access to water and
sanitation. For instance, inequalities like gender, classes,
ethnicities and social groups lead to marginalisation of vulnerable
people.
Other policies and programmes related to poverty eradication,
trade and investment; factors like quality of governance and income gap
between the North and the South have a significant bearing on
accessibility of resources.
The book comprising of eight sections provides a comprehensive outline of the various themes related to advocacy viz.:
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Section 1 – looks into spaces for civil society participation and how to link local, national and international advocacy
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Section 2 – discusses about role of WaterAid to
improve Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) in the context of UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
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Section 3 – Building community capacity for rooted advocacy
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Section 4 – Outlines the planning process for effective
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advocacy such as how to identify issues, what tools to use, clarifying the message etc.
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Section 5 – Resources to be used for advocacy
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Section 6 – Advocacy actions such as lobbying, campaigns, media etc.
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Section 7 – Monitoring and evaluation of advocacy
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Section 8 – Further information resources
The resource helps individuals, organisations in drawing up plans
to carry out advocacy work in different countries. It cites case
studies from Uganda, Pakistan, Bangladesh to highlight the efforts
undertaken for provision of safe water and sanitation.
The book has been structured such so as to involve grassroots
communities in advocating issues concerning them and to facilitate
discussions to raise public awareness.
