The West Africa Water Initiative was launched in 2002 to improve the health and well being of families and communities in Ghana, Mali and Niger. Over its five years of existence, very significant contributions were made in the three countries for the achievement of WAWI objectives. Annual regional meetings were held in rotation in Mali, Ghana and Niger to allow all partners to review the achievements and challenges encountered during the year. In 2007, USAID/ARD completed a Mid-Term Status Review to provide a comprehensive assessment of the partnership in meeting the four stated objectives:
- Objective 1: ACCESS TO SAFE WATER – “Significantly increased access to safe water by rural households in all three countries has been achieved under WAWI assistance.”
- Objective 2: REDUCTION IN WATER-RELATED DISEASES – “There is not enough data to show this objective is being met, although many partners are providing hygiene improvement messages in the target communities, and qualitative evidence indicates that the partnership is having a positive impact.”
- Objective 3: SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT – “It is difficult to determine whether this objective of sustainable water management is being met in practice due to the short time WAWI has been in existence. However, important steps are being taken to ensure that this objective is being met.”
- Objective 4: EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP – “There have been significant achievements under this objective, but there is still considerable scope for improvement, and this objective is not being met in practice. … WAWI can best be described as a work in progress.”
In addition to the Mid-Term Status Review accomplished by USAID/ARD, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation conducted a WAWI review and presented the results at the WAWI Headquarters Meeting in February 2008 in Washington D.C. The purpose of this assignment is to generate a consolidated WAWI final evaluation report mainly based on the Mid-Term Status Review done by USAID/ARD and the CNHF’s recent review.