On 10 June, a Women and Water Forum was held in Dushanbe, bringing together dignitaries from 27 countries to share experiences and make recommendations aimed at strengthening the role of women in water issues.
Speakers at the forum highlighted that Central Asia is one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and there tends to be a high level of gender inequality in access to water. According to Nancy Eslick, USAID’s global water coordinator, addressing water scarcity must be at the forefront of government action:
One in six Central Asians lives in areas of hydro risk. And nearly one-third of the region’s population lacks access to safe drinking water. Addressing water insecurity is a top government priority”.
In an exclusive interview with CABAR.asia, Nancy Eslick spoke about water scarcity, efficient water management, the most pressing water issues in Tajikistan and Central Asia, and simple technological innovations that are saving the lives of the most vulnerable communities.
Ms Eslick, how did you become the water coordinator at USAID?
First of all, it’s my favourite job I’ve ever had professionally. It’s a thrill to serve the US government in this role. I mean I grew up in the Midwest and I believed in wetlands and ecology, and I joined the Peace Corps serving in Uganda in a national forest.
What I saw in the communities surrounding the National Forest – there were so many boreholes. And those boreholes didn’t work. Not because there wasn’t water but because there were parts and people weren’t trained to repair those boreholes. And so when a new donor would come people would ask for water and that donor would drill another borehole instead of pausing, learning what the problem was, and creating training and creating private sector supply systems. They can fix the boreholes. And I think that was one of the first moments that I knew that water was one of those essential development things.
I went to get a master’s degree in water resources. And from there I joined USAID. There were a few steps in between. And I think inside USAID what I’ve learned is that water and sanitation are essential for humans especially in conflict zones, after natural disasters. Water and sanitation are one of the very basic things that are needed for people to live. I was the Acting Mission Director in Jordan, where we have one of the largest water portfolios in the world because it’s so scarce. They have very limited litres of water per person and really working with a great government to find all types of solutions for their people. Now, I have returned to Washington and am a Global Water Coordinator.
All the keynote speakers at the conference were emphasizing the complexity of the water problem. It is not only about the availability but also about sanitation, menstruation poverty for women, the list goes on. What is the main purpose of the water forum in Dushanbe, what would you want to achieve at the end?
I just want to give credit to the government of Tajikistan, and the government of the Netherlands for really putting force and working on the Dushanbe water process. But I mean the purpose of the Forum is to bring together International actors, governments, civil society, private sector to discuss the current state of affairs, and establish goals for people to go back home and achieve; for governments to come into agreement on what needs to be done which is why the 5 interactive dialogues have been very useful in establishing common goals and working towards them.
So I think that the Dushanbe water process has been very successful and the government of Tajikistan is to be credited for running excellent international, global awareness.
What are the key water-related problems in Central Asia?
Central Asia faces an existential crisis. One in six Central Asians lives in areas of hydro risk. And nearly one-third of the region’s population lacks access to safe drinking water. Addressing water insecurity is a top government priority. Central Asia also has to navigate competing demands for water.
While contending with conflicting energy and agriculture issues, looking at the availability of renewable water resources per capita has been declining across the region for several decades. As water scarcity increases, existing water resources need to be managed more efficiently. Environmental, economic and social problems are only going to get worse as the water situation gets worse.
That’s why the United States is committed to working in the field of water globally and also here in Central Asia and the C5+1 process.
In the example of Tajikistan, what is the most essential issue we have to tackle right now?
You already have great leadership. I think the next thing for Tajikistan is really to think about it in times of flooding and natural disasters, which cannot be controlled by anyone it is to make sure they continue to respond to people in need. I know we partnered with the government, we credited 10 million dollars and I had the opportunity to go out and visit some of those locations on Sunday. It’s very inspiring but that is one of the areas. Government need to make sure they’re responding to citizens’ needs.
How is USAID adapting its strategies to ensure a sustainable water supply in the country or the Central Asian region?
In the region, we were both on a diplomatic level on the C5+1 process to make sure that the United States was locked up with the Central Asian nations. We also work regionally to provide technical assistance through our Water and Vulnerable Environment program to work across all five nations because water crosses boundaries. So we need to look at cross-boundary relationships, education, data sharing, and transparency. And also bringing together youth so that they might develop a shared platform of understanding because they’re the next generation of leaders.
That’s one of the things we’re working on here in Tajikistan. It’s really about providing water and sanitation services to those people who are in need in partnership with the government. We’re also really looking at how we can integrate programming whether it’s agriculture, climate change, water and sanitation, so that we can help those communities and those individuals that are most vulnerable and improve their livelihoods.
What are the geopolitical aspects of water diplomacy? How can USAID help countries resolve emerging issues, primarily concerning transboundary rivers?
During the C5+1 process, last year hosted by President Biden all the presidents of Central Asia came to Washington and had a conversation about water security in the region. We were really happy because all of the presidents acknowledged USAID’s Water and Vulnerable Environment program.
Some of it’s really about seeing where the intersection is on cooperation between water ministries to have that multi-government trust, data sharing cooperation that I talked about a little bit earlier. Also, we are looking at regional coordination committees that can promote cooperation between the ministries and also look at issues bigger than water and how they fit into energy, food, and environmental protection so that all of those issues can be worked on during the processes of the regional coordination committee.
Globally we are prioritizing water systems in crisis. And that’s not necessary here in Central Asia, but it does happen after there are conflicts with their transboundary water issues. We’ve done quite a bit of work in Haiti with a program we call Fragile Waters where there might be two organizations or governments inside of a country where people aren’t getting along and so that additional research, data and information we can go in in assists.
One of the things we know in geopolitical situations again here in Central Asia is that children under 5 living in conflict zones are 20 times more likely to die of diseases that are linked to unsafe water and sanitation than direct violence.
This is one of my core goals, which is trying to elevate water beyond just water ministries, beyond just water professionals to help education, the private sector, and energy specialists because water is a key input to the success of those development and private sector goals.
One of the other areas that we are interested in is when they’re in a humanitarian crisis to provide immediate assistance with the government’s requesting assistance so that people that are most vulnerable and at risk have basic services with water and sanitation, food or shelter. We can work on those issues globally.
So that people who are most vulnerable and at risk have basic services with as water and sanitation food or shelter. We are able as a US government to work on those issues globally.
Can you elaborate on what kind of data should be shared between the countries? Are there any innovative solutions that you are planning to bring to the region?
I think there are different levels of that. There is global data, and some of that is in the global architecture of water and sanitation. The UN actually collects global data called the Joint Monitoring Program. And some of that data is how USAID other donors determine vulnerability and need. That is one of the ways that we want to make sure that the distribution of donor money is based on a common framework of data. That’s at the very global level.
At the regional level it’s about water flows rainwater. It’s about something called “non-revenue water”. For example, water comes out of your tap but in between there might be a pipe leak, maybe somebody’s come in and made an illegal connection, maybe 10 employees are working but 50 are being paid. So those leakages of either water or money we call non-revenue water. And that’s really important data for governments to track because it’s expensive to produce and deliver quality water to individuals. So the ideal goal would be that you deliver 100% of the water.
It’s really about accountability and it’s about operations and maintenance. It’s about reinvesting financial flows into a system to make sure that it’s up to date and that people have training. There are excellent water and sanitation workers. There’s also global data in terms of meteorological data that’s important to track and see where it’s going. Those are all water systems data, I think that there is additional data about geological water in terms of unused aquifers, and what water resources can be extracted.
Here in Tajikistan. You are blessed with glaciers. I think there are some unique data sets here in Tajikistan as well.
What kind of solutions does USAID want to implement here to track everything? Maybe the solution is to create a motivational system for tracking and saving water. And another part is how to convince regular people to care about geological water. It’s very hard to convince people it’s their concern.
There are three questions there. You’ve got a look at where the money is being spent again. You should look at possibilities about how else you can provide those services. It can be government delivery or it can also be the government setting standards, issuing contracts and employing private sector operators and holding them accountable.
There are also ways to put in market-based approaches so that you can accelerate the provision of water, and public-private partnerships whether in a rule area or an urban area. They both work.
One of the things that we really need to do is attract more people especially the private sector to invest in water. For the private sector to invest in water they need to understand where land rights are and have clear contracts. And then you need to know what their goals are to deliver. So that’s in public-private partnerships it is a sustainable long-term way to provide water, cost water. But also makes citizens happy by providing a quality service in addition to government-run systems.
There’s innovation at all levels. Innovation doesn’t have to be about fancy bells, whistles and buttons. Innovation can all be tailored to rural areas and vulnerable customers. One of the reasons why USAID created a partnership with a company called SATO – they have developed a new technology to provide sanitation for those in the most rural areas. Essentially It’s a blue pan that blocks off smell, stops pests and is much cleaner.
And that can be delivered in a private-sector manner. You can create a private sector sanitation distributor, whether they’re from hardware stores or local submit manufacturers. I saw that in Benin firsthand – lots of private sector, small entrepreneurs sell small-scale solutions that are tailored to rule areas, where we might not be creating wastewater systems that flush from ten-storey buildings but it’s an appropriate technology for the area. And I would just say that markets work really well for areas of rural distribution.
And you talked a little bit about menstrual health. Menstrual health is an important part of women’s hygiene. It’s one of the reasons why we try to partner with schools and education programs in countries around the world to make sure that they are equipped with flushing toilets or pit latrines in rural areas.
We try to provide the appropriate technology so that girls can continue to go to school and get an education because there are sanitary health options for them when they begin menstruation.
There are 2.5 billion people that don’t have access to clean water right now. And there are an additional 4.5 billion people who don’t have access to sanitation – they don’t have a toilet, not even pit latrines.
If we frame what the need is globally, that’s how the US government is trying to address based on using these indicators that we worked with the UN on where the greatest global need is, where those billions of people are.
So we have 22 high-priority countries and another 20 that we work in. And our goal by 2027 is to serve 22 million people with first-time or improved access to clean water. Help an additional 22 million people with first-time or improved access to sanitation. And we want to bring additional resources from the private sector and other areas. So our goal is to raise a billion dollars of non-US government financing to help in water and sanitation through partnerships.
When I was in Benin last year about this time, we went and visited this grandmother who had a leg ailment. She was defecating in the bushes back behind her house because she did not have pit latrines. Her son who worked in the city went and worked with the private distributor and they bought a SATO and built a latrine that has a SATO pan in it. And so for the first time, this woman had dignity for herself to be able to use safe sanitation.
It seems USAID programs are expanding far beyond the water ministries. What approach do you use to find the people most in need and connect different institutions to succeed in your goals?
US Congress has set up criteria for us. We established 22 high-priority countries. Those are on our website. And then we work with partner governments to develop a five-year plan, we partner with ministries of water and sanitation with other parts of the government to understand where the most important parts in terms of need and data in the country. We develop jointly a plan on how we’re going to implement those programs and then we work with the partner governments and private sector and civil society to implement those plants.
We identify an area of the country that’s most in need and then we work at providing increased agricultural knowledge based on value chains, which is predicting what kind of crop is going to succeed. This crop has value. It can be added that these people will be able to take their goods to market; building market systems, connecting those market systems to the next village, to the next city to Dushanbe.
Let’s take women in agriculture. Study shows that women who are not spending their time harvesting water get 80% of their time back, and those women can use that for income and generating opportunities, crafting or helping educate their children. So it’s in additional economic benefit into all of those locations.
So integrating water, sanitation, and nature-based solutions, so that water stays in a location longer and helping do their recharge is crucial.
USAID and the Biden-Harris Administration are committed to doubling investments in gender and equity and women and girls empowerment. Inside of USAID, we want to focus on how we can productively work with women. Last year we launched a program called Generating Resilience and Opportunities for Women so that we could commit and tackle the most serious issues facing women in water, food systems, and climate change, but also give them those economic opportunities. We’re trying to create knowledge and build the confidence of women in youth so they can be more productive contributors to society.
If I may give an example of Nepal, there USAID put agricultural technologies into the hands of women by installing and conducting training systems on how to operate and maintain 1,600 irrigation systems across approximately 2,000 hectares.
What motivates you in your work, and what advice would you give young women aspiring to become leaders in the water sector or their local communities?
My advice for women in leadership is first of all surround yourself with other amazing women, and create networks so that you have peers to work with, help, push you, and grow with you. But you also have a trusted group. I would also say in terms of women’s success sometimes there’s only one voice in a room, but when there are two voices there are voices that support each other they’re more likely to be heard.
From my own experience, I do this because I feel passionate about helping people who are in need. I was very lucky, I grew up with water, food, housing, and sanitation. I’ve had the opportunity to see people that aren’t and I could focus my efforts just as easily on selling photocopy machines or working in a tech company. But for me, it means something in terms of the product that we’re delivering and part of that product is hope.
And it’s an opportunity to have people have dignity and lift themselves up. So why do I do it – because it means something.
In the Water Forum, there was an idea that we have to give hope to the youth, they have to see beyond 2030. What do these words mean to you?
Youth already have a voice, they’ve chosen to be involved in water. They’re choosing to come to this conference. I think that they need to build networks. They need to educate themselves, and they need to determine goals and be active participants in their countries, using their inspiration to come up with new ideas. They have skills that I could never even imagine that I have right now, and innovations and thoughts. They need to run with it and do it and implement it.