The 18th Health and Business Roundtable: “Multi-Sector Partnership to Improve Water and Sanitation”
Company-Community Partnerships for Health in Indonesia (CCPHI) facilitated the 18th Health and Business Roundtable Indonesia (HBRI) on July 12, 2012. Danone Aqua, a bottled water company, hosted the event and Riris Sundrijo from Pacivis UI, an NGO affiliated with University of Indonesia, moderated the meeting. Sixty participants attended, representing 13 companies, 21 NGOs, one association, and one academic institution. Danone Aqua and Yayasan Pembangunan Citra Insan Indonesia (YPCII, a public health NGO,) presented their partnership called the Multi-Sector Partnership for Community-Based Water and Environmental Health (Mitra PHAST). The program supported by the partnership started in July 2010 and runs until December 2012.
During the presentation the partners described how the partnership was able to improve access to clean water and sanitation for communities in Sukabumi, West Java. They discussed factors that contributed to their success including engaging communities from the beginning of activities; involving all sectors - in this case the central government, local government, the business sector, and NGOs to provide funding and in-kind resources needed to implement the program; and a focus on results that can be sustained after the program ends. Danone Aqua, YPCII, the Sukabumi District Government and the Ministry of Public Works are all contributing to the Mitra Phast program activities that include pipe installation, water distribution, building sanitation facilities, increasing community awareness about healthy behaviors, and monitoring and evaluation. A case study on this program will be written and published to provide more detail information about the dynamics of the partnership.
During the discussion session, participants discussed additional factors needed for building a sustainable multi-sector partnership. They agreed that to build such a partnership, each sector should identify strengths and weaknesses of each partner, have clear roles and responsibilities, and empower each other to build mutual trust and commitment.