In preparation for the 2015 BORDA Symposium, BORDA had asked GRET to address the following questions:
– What are the main challenges to make sanitation programmes at the municipal level successful ?
– What bottlenecks and mistakes in international cooperation should be avoided ?
– What is needed from national and local players and the international community to ensure integrated management of used water and sanitation (especially for the West African region) ?
This presentation paper will give some suggestions to answer these questions, based on the experience of field projects in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Haiti. Starting from GRET’s strategic frame for action in water and sanitation, the presentation will first focus on strengthening local actors in the sanitation sector, before investigating the three axes that are necessary to implement an integrated approach. Finally, some mistakes that should be avoided and some advice to ensure integrated management of used water and sanitation will be presented.