Philippine Sanitation Alliance
AECOM International Development is implementing the Philippines Sanitation Alliance (PSA), which will provide more than 900,000 Filipinos with access to basic sanitation services to reduce public health risks and promote increased productivity. The PSA's focus is on developing and implementing stakeholder-driven sanitation facilities and promoting social awareness on the benefits of proper hygiene. In partnership with the private sector, these treatment facilities are adopting appropriate technologies, employing user fees for full cost recovery where applicable, and serving as a platform for sharing innovative, low-cost, low-maintenance sanitation solutions throughout Asia. Through the PSA, we are implementing a participatory, multi-stakeholder approach that will leverage and expand ongoing efforts to mobilize significant private sector resources and achieve measurable results on the ground. AECOM International Development experts are providing technical assistance to PSA partners to enable them to make new investments in appropriate sanitation solutions for housing developments, septage treatment facilities, hotels, hospitals, markets and slaughterhouses, restaurants, and schools.
The PSA is supported by both USAID/Philippines and the USAID Global Development Alliance (GDA). AECOM International Development has successful experience and a proven track record of implementing sanitation projects in the Philippines and GDA partnerships in Nepal and Thailand. Our partners under PSA include Coca-Cola; Max's Restaurants; and Gawad Kalinga, an NGO that builds housing for the urban poor; the cities of Davao and Zamboanga in Mindanao and Meycauayan and Santa Rosa in Luzon; Engineers Without Borders; and BORDA, an international NGO with extensive experience building low-maintenance sewage treatment facilities for communities, hospitals, and small enterprises in Asia. Under the PSA, AECOM International Development is building on our excellent working relationships with World Bank and JICA projects in the PHilippines and Philippine government agencies involved in sanitation issues.
Major Results
- First training of private service providers held in December. The kickoff session of the short training course for service providers on appropriate wastewater treatment systems and approaches was held December 11, 2007. The objectives of the eight-session training program are to provide select engineering service providers with training on how to design sustainable, low-cost, low-maintenance wastewater treatment systems. The PSA will refer interested cities and private sector groups to these service providers when its own technical staff cannot respond to their requests for assistance. The service providers are expected to provide reliable, appropriate technical design work required by potential clients, and give them more options to choose from in terms of technical approach and corresponding budget. This test run will also provide feedback for the PSA to improve the training materials and develop a well-structured set of materials that can be shared with partners for replication.
