Climate resilience, governance, and finance are key areas of focus for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s WASH work, according to Jeff Goldberg, director of USAID’s Center for Water Security, Sanitation and Hygiene.
“We've definitely learned — along with the rest of the WASH sector — that success needs to be defined as more than infrastructure, and more than taps and toilets alone,” Goldberg said. “We have to be working on governance, finance, [and] the broader enabling environment to ensure the sustainability of our investments over the longer term.”
Last month, USAID made its annual announcement of its list of high priority countries for the U.S. government’s WASH investments for the year ahead. Seventeen of the 18 countries prioritized for 2021 will remain high priorities alongside four new additions: Guatemala, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Zambia. Afghanistan was removed from the list.