Consultancy for the Review and Update of the National Policy for Water Supply and Sanitation in Cambodia
Context
Looking ahead to 2030, Cambodia's National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene states that "every person living in rural communities has sustainable access to safe water supply and sanitation services and lives in a hygienic environment by 2025", which implies increased equitable access to basic, safe and climate-resilient water supply and sanitation services. However, these targets have fallen far behind schedule; in July 2020, the UN reported that the 2030 targets were behind schedule and that COVID-19 had further disrupted the path to achieving these targets.
Objective
The 2003 National Water and Sanitation Policy provided an important initial guideline for the sector. However, as responsibilities and activities have evolved, there is a need to update this policy to ensure the development of services, consistency with other policies and the legal and regulatory frameworks, and the ability to adapt to future needs. This project therefore aims to update the national water supply and sanitation policy in response to the evolution of the sector.
Our contribution
Espelia contributed to the following activities:
- Systematic assessment and stocktaking of existing WSS policies: comprehensive diagnosis of the WSS sector, review of challenges, identification of relevant WSS policy developments compatible with the government's vision of universal coverage, as well as with the CSDGs;
- WSS policy update: drafting of a new WSS policy, addressing issues such as government program alignment, legal framework harmonization, proactive regulation, financial sustainability, service delivery models, human resources capacity building... ;
- Stakeholder engagement to support consensus building
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Espelia supports local authorities, public stakeholders and their partners in the design, management and transformation of local public policies. A consulting firm committed to serving the public interest, Espelia mobilises strategic, legal, financial and operational expertise to help territories build sustainable and resilient solutions.
