9AWW: Intersectoral Coordination for Improved Sanitation Services in Nakuru City: Lessons from WASH Governance in Kenya and other African Countries

Fast-growing urban populations coupled with expanding urban informal settlements continues to exert pressure on already overstretched social infrastructure and services such as WASH, housing, and healthcare that have not kept pace with the fast-ballooning population. To tackle these challenges, innovatively formulated coordination mechanisms are key to improving planning, prioritization and resources allocation for improved urban sanitation services. The session will examine the opportunities for intersectoral coordination between urban sanitation sub-sector players both at national and city levels, share examples of how these mechanisms are established and challenges faced. A case study of Nakuru City focusing on Nakuru Countywide Sanitation Technical Steering Committee (NACOSTEC) as one such efforts to strengthen coordination and the National level Urban Sanitation Technical Working Group (USTWG) in Kenya as the other among other two will be presented to the audience. The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion involving sanitation and urban planning experts drawn from across Africa to share experiences of different countries and cities in Africa. The panel discussion will be followed by questions and the session then will close with key recommendations for strengthening sector coordination for better urban sanitation services.