On the heels of being named one of the first “open governments” in West Africa by the Open Government Partnership, this week Sierra Leone has launched an interactive Water and Sanitation (WASH) data portal. This portal is a joint initiative led by the Ministry of Water Resources and has been set up using Akvo Sites. It displays data analysis features, interactive data tables, maps and raw data from the 28,000 water points mapped in 2016.
Image above: Screenshot of the homepage of the Sierra Leone’s WASH data portal washdata-sl.org. 9 February, 2017.
The aim of this website is to publish data for the WASH indicators as established by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, SDG6 ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. Secondly, the websites aims to simplify the way data is shared so all stakeholders can work more efficiently. Along these lines, the following information is available: water supply access and functionality, water supply and sanitation facilities for households, current sanitation and latrine coverage, and data on demand for latrine emptying services.
Image above: Infographic of Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by Mauro Toselli #Club17Africa.
The idea is that all the progress on WASH facilities in Sierra Leone will be measured, compared and published on this portal over the next 13 years. This way, the baseline and subsequent monitoring data will provide an important foundation for water sector planning and strategy development of the WASH sector in Sierra Leone. If you are interested in seeing the different kinds of datasets that the Ministry of Water Resources makes available to the public, you can visit the portal here.
Lars Heemskerk is a communications and project officer at Akvo West Africa. You can follow him on Twitter @larsheemskerk.