The programme aligns its objectives with the global commitments set out in the 2030 Agenda, focusing on SDG 6 on Water and Sanitation.
On May 10, SDC held the Operational Start-up Workshop of the Programme for Sustainable and Innovative Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services in Rural Areas (SIRWASH), which aims to improve enabling environments for policy, innovation and knowledge sharing, and build the capacities necessary to provide rural communities with sustainable quality WASH services with a particular focus on vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, in four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
SIRWASH has defined three components, and one of them is implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Bolivia, Brazil, Haiti and Peru, to close the gaps in rural ASH services (acceptability, affordability, sustainability) by strengthening capacities and creating an enabling environment in those countries.
At the workshop, SDC made a detailed presentation of the objectives, results matrix and components in the intervention countries (Peru, Colombia, Haiti, Bolivia and Brazil) and of the regional scope, and introduced the technical team, programme governance, execution instruments and other key issues to the focus points of the priority countries’ governments, describing the liaison with the SDC Swiss Cooperation country offices.
«In this pandemic we have realized how important it is to have water and sanitation not only to be able to meet basic needs but also to be able to fight the pandemic,» said Sergio Campos, head of the IDB Water and Sanitation Division, in his opening remarks.

«Undoubtedly,» he emphasized, «in our region we have a very big challenge to achieve universal access, and in this search for universal access, rural communities play an important role because they are the most under-privileged and the most difficult to reach, due to distance, operation and maintenance issues, and sustainability and infrastructure issues.«
The workshop had two sections. The first was formal, and included remarks by Carmelo Valda, Deputy-Minister of Potable Water and Basic Sanitation (VAPSB) of Bolivia; Giovanne Gomes da Silva, President of FUNASA’s National Health Foundation (Brazil); Jean Robert Gay, General Coordinator of DINEPA of Haiti; Javier Hernández, Vice Minister of Construction and Sanitation of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation of Peru; Simon Zbinden, head of SDC’s Water Division – Global Programmes from Switzerland; and Martin Jaggi, head of SDC cooperation in the Andean region. This section also provided an opportunity for members of the IDB technical team, the focal points and the SDC team in each country to strengthen their ties.

Rosa María Alcayhuamán, SDC National Programme Officer, shared the background of SIRWASH with the attendees. It is a programme that has been built on the experience of the SABA Project, a comprehensive management model that was applied in the region for over 20 years. It began in the regions of Cusco and Cajamarca in Peru as a local initiative, scaled up to regional level, then national level, and to date is trying to promote sustainability at the global level.
In the second section, Kleber Machado (IDB) presented the SIRWASH programme, its objectives, components and technical team. Cristina Mecerreyes (IDB) described the intervention strategy, governance and communication to be implemented in each country, which will be key for the coordination and joint work towards building a regional vision.
In closing, he highlighted that the SIRWASH Programme is aligned to the 2030 Agenda, focusing on SDG 6, and that its importance lies in good practices and ad hoc exchange, especially in rural areas, which highlights knowledge, dialogue, advocacy to close gaps and public policies as intangible capital.
Capacity building, training and institutional strengthening are key cross-cutting areas for activities in rural areas. Building trust is a major challenge for sustainable management models such as SIRWASH, as is taking into account the characteristics and needs of sparse communities, and the role of water quality in bringing together a country’s national and subnational levels and the countries themselves.
Finally, he stressed the importance of innovation and participation and the active participation of the private sector in its different ways (key alliance with Sistema B) and of young people with water and sanitation solutions, as they are active through Young Water Solutions.
Resources:
SIRWASH Programme background
PDF SIRWASH: objectives, structure, governance, south-south cooperation
PDF SIRWASH-Sector rural Bolivia
PDF SIRWASH-Sector rural Brasil
PDF SIRWASH-Sector rural Haiti
PDF SIRWASH-Sector rural Peru
Factsheet SIRWAS (Sp / Eng)