Abstract
The world's poorest people, most of whom reside in under-developed nations, lack access to clean water and sanitation facilities, nutritious food, and education (UMP, 2005). These conditions are linked to malnutrition, disease, and low life expectancies (WHO). In an effort to reduce global poverty, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under Goal 7c the UN denotes that by 2015 the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation as compared to the proportion who do should be halved. As a response to this objective the international development (ID) sector has implemented projects aimed at increasing access to clean water and sanitation facilities, yet reports of high rate of project failure continue (Ika, 2012). In this thesis factors contributing to project failures are outlined based on the literature. In response to these findings this thesis explores the components of sustainability as it relates to the WASH sector and creates a framework for minimum standards that should be met in order for a WASH project to be considered successful. These standards are adapted based on the World Health Organization (WHO), a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that evaluates WASH projects called WASHCost, as well as the standards proposed by Carter et al (1999). Furthermore, it is argued that if implementing organizations are expected to monitor, evaluate and report on the environmental, social, economic as well as technical components of their implemented project, it will create a level of transparency that promotes organizational accountability that will inherently cause a shift towards more effective WASH projects.
Notes
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Thesis Completion
2014
Semester
Spring
Advisor
Reinhart, Debra
Degree
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering (B.S.Env.E.)
College
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Degree Program
Environmental Engineering
Subjects
Dissertations, Academic -- Engineering and Computer Science; Engineering and Computer Science -- Dissertations, Academic
Format
Identifier
CFH0004632
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Document Type
Honors in the Major Thesis
Recommended Citation
Jeanis, Kaitlyn, "Organizational Accountability in the W.A.S.H. Sector: Integrating Sustainability Factors Into the Definition of Success" (2014). HIM 1990-2015. 1582.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1582