Papua New Guinea Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) Policy 2015-2030.

This Papua New Guinea Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) Policy of 2015 focuses on improved service delivery of drinking water, sanitation and promoting long term hygiene behaviour change. It aims at a significant, sustainable and equitable increase in access to safe water and sanitation and improvement in hygiene practises, particularly in the poorly served rural and peri-urban areas. The Policy is divided into four sections. Section One describes out the rationale and factual basis on which the Policy was drafted. Section Two sets out definitions and the minimum standards (included in such definitions). Section Three sets out the Policy Context and directions. Section Four contains the actual policy and strategies. Section Five details the organizational responsibilities and Section Six contains the Implementation Plan. Finally, Section Seven concerns monitoring and evaluation.
This policy aims to link existing development priorities as described in the Vision 2050, MTDP and the National Strategy for Responsible Sustainable Development directly to an improved service delivery structure and monitoring framework (The Strategy RSD) for the benefit of our people, linking sustainable development activities to clear budgets and monitoring progress against the government’s key development objectives. It establishes clear disaggregated targets for 2030, as well as minimum standards and principles for implementation. To achieve these targets the policy identifies seven distinct strategies. The principle one among the proposed strategies is an improved Institutional framework for effective implementation (Strategy One). Other strategies are: Increased WaSH Sector Funding; Develop and Implement an Effective Management Information System for the WaSH Sector; Improved and Consistent Approaches to WaSH Service Delivery; Appropriate Technology Promotion; Enhance Private Sector Participation and Partnerships and; Increase Sector Capacity Building and Training. Initially, this will be led by a Programme Management Unit in DNPM, with the opportunity to work towards the establishment of a National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Authority (NWSHA). As already stated, the objective of the WaSH policy is to provide equitable access to safe, convenient and sustainable water supply and sanitation and to promote improved hygiene practices and long term hygiene behaviour change at the personal, household, community and institutional level particular to rural and urban settlement areas that are currently under-served. This objective will be measured against specified water supply, sanitation and hygiene targets to be achieved by 2030.
Section Five contains a Table, which summarises the roles and responsibilities that are expected to be carried out by the organisations and agencies, principally engaged in the WaSH sector service delivery. Section 6 sets out the Implementation Plan, which comprises three phases spanning a twelve-year period. Implementation activities are set out in Tables. The NWSHA will compile WaSH monitoring data and produce summary reports as part of its annual reporting process. This data will be used to measure progress against the Development Plan and WaSH policy targets. Achievements will be compared against additional development indicators, such as health to evaluate impact and progress towards the policy’s broader goal. This Policy will be reviewed every 5 years following its approval.