The Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (KIWASH) is a five year program of the US Agency for International Development , implemented by DAI with the goal of improving the lives and health of Kenyan citizens in nine counties through development and management of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services.

KIWASH aims to accelerate and sustain improvements in water and sanitation access and services in nine target counties and improve complementary hygiene behaviors. In Kenya nationally, expansion in improved water and sanitation access has barely kept pace with population growth, respectively growing by only about 0.9% and 0.2% annually over the past decade according to Joint Monitoring Program (JMP 2013) estimates.

To ensure that improvements in access are accelerated and sustained, KIWASH is implementing activities which contribute to six distinct objectives:.

• Scale up market-based WASH service delivery models
• Increase and sustain access to finance/credit for WASH
• Improved access to integrated WASH and Nutrition services
• Increased production and consumption of nutrient-dense, diverse foods
• Increased environmental sustainability of WASH services
• Strengthen governance  of WASH services and water resources institutions
• Support targeted policy reforms advanced which stimulate and improve access improvements

All six core areas are not implemented in each KIWASH focus county but specific activities are selected at the national and county level in accordance with identified needs and gaps and USAID’s overall WASH strategy in Kenya.

The KIWASH Theory of Change
There is no one theory of change that fits a multi-dimensional project like KIWASH. The key assumptions underlying the conception of KIWASH that will lead to significant change within the Kenyan WASH/Nutrition sectors are as follows:

• If we strengthen the operations and improve the financial performance of WSPs, then they will be able improve WASH service delivery and more effectively secure outside financing for network upgrades and expansion.
• If we effectively engage diverse private sector actors in the delivery of water and sanitation services, then households will benefit from improved and more affordable services and products.
• If we combine improved citizen understanding with actions to improve hygiene practices and the consumption of more diverse and nutritious foods, then we can dramatically reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease and malnutrition in targeted households, communities and counties.