The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $841,217.39 in grants to seven Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in Lagos State through the USAID/Nigeria Lagos Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene (LUWASH) Activity. The grants are aimed at enabling the CBOs implement WASH service delivery interventions in Lagos State.
This was made known during a 3-day capacity building and implementation kick-off workshop organised by the USAID/Nigeria LUWASH Activity for the seven partners that will implement the grants.
The three-day workshop aimed to orientate the grantees with the rules and guidelines of the grants, held at The SOJOURNER BY Genesis Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos from July 8 to 10, 2024. It marked the official launch of the implementation phase of the LUWASH Grants under Contract (GUC) programme.
The orientation programme brought together the signed grantees, representatives of CBOs, officials of USAID/Nigeria LUWASH as well as representatives of the media at the workshop.
Speaking during his opening remarks at the workshop, the USAID/Nigeria LUWASH Activity, Deputy Chief of Party, Engr. Soni Elisha, stated that “these grants are awarded and will be managed in compliance with USAID and the U.S. Government regulations governing Grants Under Contracts, as well as LUWASH’s internal grant management policies”. He provided an overview of the LUWASH programme and outlined the roles of the grantees while emphasising the importance of the grants in promoting sustainable development and improving public health outcomes in Lagos State.
Engr. John also underscored that the grants are not gifts but funds provided to execute the activities outlined in the grantees’ proposals. He stressed the importance of grantee accountability and commitment to delivering the activities outlined in their proposals, ensuring these activities directly benefit low-income communities around Lagos. Noting that the project is provided through the support of the American people through USAID, the grants totalling $841,217.39 were signed between LUWASH and the seven CBOs in Lagos between May and June 2024.
Implemented through the LUWASH Capacity Building, Research, and Advocacy Fund (CAREVO Fund), these grants aim to improve the sustainability of CBOs, enhance their growth opportunities, and enable them to reach more households with safely managed WASH services in Lagos.
The first set of recipient Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that got the grants includes the Clean Borehole Water Sellers Association of Lagos, Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), Optimal Greening Foundation (OGF), Lagos Civil Society Participation for Development (LACSOP), Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS), Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction and Urban Resilience (IDRRUR), and Organisation for Peaceful Society in Africa (OPSA).
These merit-based grants are designed to strengthen the sustainability and reach of these CSOs in delivering safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
These organisations will implement interventions aimed at improving Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) practices, establishing the Citizens-led Accountability and Inclusion Mechanism (CLAIM) for WASH service delivery, and strengthening the capacity of CBOs for greater effectiveness and accountability in the WASH sector in Lagos State.
Additionally, one of the grants will facilitate effective fecal sludge management and restore water supply and sanitation facilities in the Okobaba community in Ebute Metta East, Lagos Mainland Local Government, among other initiatives.
An important aspect of the capacity building and kick-off workshop which the grantees were trained on is the issue of ensuring increased participation especially for citizens that constitute minority in communities including the female gender, children, persons with disability (PWD), among others.
Going by the approach of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), the orientation showed that a large gap still exists between male and female participation; hence, the grant recipients were urged to create opportunities for everybody to participate. For instance, the grantees were informed that 30 per cent to 40 per cent of women-owned SMEs (small and medium enterprises) should be part of the drive. This is based on the belief that if women are empowered it will ultimately reduce the burden on men.
Speaking during the orientation workshop, one of the grant recipients, Mr Akin Jimoh who is the programme director, Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS) highlighted the challenges the current outbreak of cholera in the country poses to citizens in Lagos, saying the situation will require urgent water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions.
Giving his experience while growing up, he said a lot of citizens had public water supply but nowadays how many people have access to that? “So, the government has a responsibility but also the individuals to ensure that certain structures put in place by the government are not destroyed.”
According to Jimoh, while implementing this grant, DEVCOMS will be working in about three local government areas (LGAs), with 30 CBOs and six community development associations (CDAs), build their capacity, mobilise resources in a way they can stand on their own and provide support for water service delivery for the populace.
On her part, another grant recipient, Oluwole Bimbo of the Clean Borehole Water Sellers Association of Lagos, said, “Our intervention is carried out for people selling borehole water and charitable institutions supplying water for free to people. “We want to ensure they provide clean water to the people of Lagos State and also to draw the borehole water sellers under regulation because currently they are not being regulated in any way”.
She noted that churches and mosques also provide water free for people in most cases. However, while implementing the grant, the Clean Borehole Water Sellers Association of Lagos will ensure that the water provided is clean and safe for consumption. “We want to streamline the activities of these charitable institutions, train them, and regulate them in order to make sure they meet the criteria of Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) so as to make sure every borehole service in Lagos is regulated and safe drinking water is provided to the residents of Lagos.”