Mali’s WASH sector faces a lack of financial and human resources, and marginalised groups in Mali are underrepresented both in government and in the development sector. As a result, the management of water and related resources lacks effective coordination, WASH infrastructure isn’t sustainably managed or equally distributed, and the government is not held accountable for delivering quality WASH services to everyone.

Local CSOs can play a major role in holding policy makers accountable and raising the voice of marginalised groups in society. Without the resources to initiate evidence-based lobby and advocacy strategies, creating sustainable change is a slow and tiresome process.

Following the capacity strengthening, a number of pilots are being implemented to capture high quality data and visualise that data in a clear and compelling way. One pilot, for example, maps the pollution of the surface water of the Inner Niger Delta, providing a starting point for WASH duty bearers to take action. Another pilot gains insights into the untreated waste that is disposed of in the Bamako region, with consequences for the water quality of the Niger River. Akvo also works on gathering, analysing, and visualising all available water quality data on the Inner Niger Delta in Mali in an open data lobbying process.

These pilots provide important information for decision making, while equipping local CSOs with the methodology to do evidence-based lobby and advocacy in the future. Effective lobby and advocacy is strategic and based on research and analysis, and the Watershed programme provides civil society with methodologies that are evidence-based, strategic and coordinated to achieve sustainable impact.