South-South learning and Ministerial-level dialogue on sector financing - WASH services expanded and sustained beyond the COVID-19 crisis

On 1 October 2020, the SWA Secretariat facilitated an event to strengthen South-South learning, contribute to the political dialogue on WASH financing, and leverage the potential for matchmaking with domain experts. As with previous South-South learnings, this event started with a specific country initiative – the Avotr’Aina operation in Madagascar, which seeks to reach the most vulnerable urban populations with essential WASH services. The ensuing dialogue saw Madagascar’s WASH Minister discussed with a domain expert, the country’s specific challenges in sector financing and some possible, actionable solutions, taken notably from the Finance Handbook. The event was moderated by Catarina de Albuquerque, the CEO of SWA.

This event was part of SWA's focus on sector financing, and complements other activities such as the Finance Ministers' Meeting, country preparations for the Meeting, the dedicated webinars on sector financing, the establishment of the Systems and Financing Working Group, and the release and use of the Ministerial Handbook.