USAID IUWASH PLUS ended its five-year program in five districts/cities in West Java region, namely Depok, Bekasi, Bogor cities and Bogor and Karawang districts.
The program closure took place in a ceremonial event titled ‘West Java the Champion: Independently Building Safely-Managed Access to Water and Sanitation’ held online and offline by USAID IUWASH PLUS and West Java Provincial Government in Bandung on September 2021. The event aimed at discussing the sustainability of USAID IUWASH PLUS’ programs in West Java and reaffirming stakeholders’ commitments to it.
Participating in this event were the leaders from the ministries, local governments, and USAID Indonesia, among others are the Director of Housing and Settlements of Bappenas, Ms. Tri Dewi Virgianti; the Director of Environmental Health of the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Vensya Sitohang; the Director of the Environment Office of USAID Indonesia, Mr. Brian Dusza; the Head of Housing and Settlement Office of West Java, Mr. Boy Iman Nugraha; the Assistant of Economy and Development of Bogor District, Mr. Nuradi; the Head of Planning Board of Bogor City, Mr. Rudy Mashudi; the Head of Planning Board of Depok City, Mr. Dadang Wihana, and representatives of the five city/district government partners of USAID IUWASH PLUS.
During the event, participants witnessed the signing of Activity Plan for the Sustainability of USAID IUWASH PLUS Programs by the representatives of the five cities/districts. The signing signifies commitment to continuing the implemention of the Urban STBM approach and to replicating the participatory WASH monitoring and evaluation (M&E) beyond USAID IUWASH PLUS-assisted urban villages. Depok city, Bogor city, and Bogor district representatives also expressed their commitment to continue providing regular desludging services in their respective areas.
Bogor city and Bogor district representatives also signed one additional document, namely Implementation of Groundwater Conservation in Spring Recharge Areas, which establishes official collaboration between the two regional governments in conserving groundwater. USAID IUWASH PLUS facilitated the development of Spring Vulnerability Assessment and Action Plans for Ciburial Spring in Bogor district and Tangkil Spring in Bogor city in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
The declaration of commitment was then followed by a discussion session, in which participants highlighted the importance of WASH data collected by the participatory M&E teams in improving access to water and sanitation.