Press releases
April 8, 2008
Think local, act local
Based on its research, WaterAid is calling for national governments and donors to step back and allow local governments to make decisions in response to local pressures.
Credit: WaterAid / Juthika Howlader
Aid money is failing to reach local authorities responsible for delivering water services. WaterAid's report,
Think local, act local, shows that the aid system has largely been unsuccessful in keeping pace with the decentralization reforms that it pushed for itself.
Too many local authorities in developing countries find that their capacity to deliver services is undermined by the failure to distribute finance through government structures.
There is a lack of donor coherence and poor management of developmentfinance. Many bilateral and multilateral donors and NGOs are notrecognizing or aligning aid delivery with in-country reform processes.
Think local, act local draws on evidence from 12 of the poorest countries in Africa and Asiaand highlights key blockages that stand in the way of development moneyreaching the local authorities who are responsible for deliveringservices.
Funds are not reaching the local level; in Ethiopia this has resultedin a missed opportunity to provide water and sanitation to 70,000people.
Laura Hucks, WaterAid Policy Officer and author of the report, explained:
"Our research shows that in spite of policy commitments todecentralization reform - which aims to make basic service provisionmore efficient, accountable and responsive to the needs of communities- local governments are consistently bypassed. The problem isparticularly acute in the water and sanitation sectors where finance isfragmented and piecemeal.
"There is a lack of donor coherence and poor management of developmentfinance. Many bilateral and multilateral donors and even NGOs are notrecognizing or aligning aid delivery with in-country reform processes."
The way in which aid is delivered is weakening democratic processes foraccountability at the grassroots level. Local governments are unable tomake effective plans, as they never know what aid they will receive andwhen it will be delivered.
Based on this research, WaterAid is calling for national governmentsand donors to step back and allow local governments to make decisionsin response to local pressures.
Read the full report hereThink local, act local (PDF 1374.53KB)