Accelerating Progress towards National Targets: The Power of Effective Government Leadership

Effective government leadership is critical to accelerating progress towards national water supply and sanitation targets. As countries such as Rwanda, India and Peru highlight, when effective government leadership is present and sustained over time, considerable progress can be achieved in operationalising government-led sector reforms and ultimately expanding access to safe and inclusive services.

The importance of effective government leadership is consistently cited in global and Pan-African strategies, declarations, and guidelines (e.g., the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines, Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy), and reflected in flagship programmes such as the Heads of State Initiatives and Water Forward. However, our sector often has a narrow focus on the importance of ‘political leadership’ and a limited set of top-level, sometimes symbolic or declaratory leadership actions. Critically, common markers of political prioritisation – a presidential compact, a new headline sector target, or a commitment to mobilise additional resources – are, by themselves, weak indicators of effective leadership.

Truly effective government leadership that addresses the systemic challenges facing the sector and accelerates progress towards national, continental, and global water supply and sanitation targets requires much more. In-depth analysis from India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, and Zambia established five effective government leadership competencies required to address systemic challenges and accelerate progress towards national targets:

• Vision-setting and communication.

• Devolution of decision-making and resources.

• Cross-governmental coordination.

• Accountability and incentives.

• Diagnostics and course corrections.

The study’s full position paper can be accessed here. It offers a comprehensive overview of these five competencies, showcases the positive impact achieved when these competencies are sustained, and outlines priority actions for different constituent groups.

The learning brief offers a compressed summary and can be accessed here.