As we mark World Water Day 2023, Alinea’s Asia-Pacific team covers how creative and inclusive partnerships can get Sustainable Development Goal 6 back on track. By Georgia Naughton-Watt and Bernadette Whitelum.

Access to safe and inclusive water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is essential to the health, nutrition, dignity, and livelihoods of all people. Yet for at least one month each year, 3.6 billion people worldwide lack access to safe water – a number expected to exceed 5 billion by 2050. Women and people with disabilities, especially in remote areas, experience a myriad of barriers in accessing safe water and sanitation.

World Water Day 2023 spotlights the urgency of addressing inequalities in access to WASH. Globally, we need to quadruple our efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030: To ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Climate change is making this challenge harder, pushing the goal further out of reach. The increasing frequency and severity of climate-induced natural disasters threaten critical WASH infrastructure and services. Water and disasters are inextricably linked. Too much, or too little, water cause almost 75 per cent of humanitarian disasters – risking damage to waterpoints, sewerage systems, and toilets, as well as contaminating water sources and isolating communities from water supply and services. This damage can take years to restore, undermining capacity for communities to practice good hygiene and contributing to the spike in water-borne and communicable diseases often seen following disasters. Women, children under 5 years old, and people with disabilities often experience enhanced vulnerabilities to the effects of disasters and water insecurity.

Access to WASH and disaster-resilience

Concerted action by governments, private sector, civil society, and communities is needed to accelerate efforts to achieve SDG 6, and ensure steps forward can withstand climate change and natural disasters. Ensuring access to WASH is critical both in the immediate aftermath of disasters, and as part of efforts to build community preparedness and disaster resilience. Funded by the Australian Government, the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s Disaster READY initiative strengthens partnerships between country National Disaster Management Offices, civil society, faith-based organisations, communities, and INGOs to improve WASH for communities across the Pacific – and it is proving a successful model. For example, in Fiji, the Disaster READY team trained and registered more than 300 volunteers under a Community Volunteer Mobilisation Scheme. In the wake of Tropical Cyclone Harold, they were ready and distributed WASH and agriculture kits to villages across Fiji, including to communities in locations that were otherwise inaccessible.

Locally-led solutions and inclusive water partnerships are also proving effective in Timor-Leste. The Australian Government-funded PARTISIPA program is working through partnerships and community-driven approaches to improve the resilience of urban and rural WASH infrastructure. In 2021, Cyclone Seroja caused devastating floods, damaging much of Dili’s major water supply infrastructure. In response, PARTISIPA worked with the newly-established water authority BTL and Engineers without Borders to build a more durable water supply system – strengthening resilience of physical infrastructure, and operational and maintenance capacity.

Potential in partnerships

Creative and inclusive partnerships hold the key to getting SDG 6 back on track. This is essential to ensuring the right solutions for the challenges experienced by communities in different locations and contexts.

Partnerships can:

Identify innovative and sustainable solutions;

Overcome critical financing gaps; and

Ensure the benefits of improved WASH are experienced by all.

Importantly, water sector projects must meaningfully engage women, people with disabilities, and other marginalised groups to address their diverse WASH needs and challenges. This requires going beyond inclusion at the beneficiary-level by enhancing equality in representation at all levels of WASH planning, design, management, and maintenance. Inclusive partnerships have the ability to strengthen the effectiveness of WASH interventions and harness the role WASH can play in climate resilience and disaster risk reduction.

About the Australian Government-funded Alinea Asia-Pacific programs highlighted in this article

Funded by the Australian Government, the Australian Humanitarian Partnership represents a partnership between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian chapters of six leading NGOs working in humanitarian and disaster response: Caritas, Plan International, Care, Save the Children, World Vision, and Oxfam. Alinea International manages the Australian Humanitarian Partnership Support Unit, providing technical, operational, and administrative support to the Partnership.

Funded by the Australian Government, PARTISIPA is an investment in improving the access and quality of basic infrastructure and service in Timor-Leste. PARTISIPA is managed by DT Global. Alinea International manages the monitoring, evaluation, and learning unit for the program.

alinea’s whistleblower policy

1.1 Purpose

The following Whistleblower Policy has been established to provide guidance to Alinea International employees and sub-contractors on how to deal with known or suspected improper conduct within the organization. The objectives of this Policy are to:

Create awareness of the Policy and available whistleblower protections
Act as a reference guide to potential whistleblowers wishing to make a disclosure
Define the structure of the whistleblower system, including reporting and investigation procedures, whistleblower protections, and confidentiality, among others
Improve the communication and transparency in the processes associated with whistleblowing and assure protection against derogatory consequences, namely reprisals and detrimental action
Complement the current communication channels between employees, sub-contractors and immediate managers, and hierarchical channels flowing to the President and Senior Management team
Provide guidance to all parties involved in either whistleblowing or whistleblower protection.

1.2 Scope

Alinea requires all employees and sub-contractors to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. All employees and sub-contractors of Alinea are required to comply with applicable laws and regulations of Canada and the countries where we operate. Any allegations of known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources will be dealt with in accordance with this Policy, and reasonable steps will be taken to protect those who come forward with allegations. Alinea’s Whistleblower Policy covers both internal and external whistleblowing, and establishes the controls and procedures for dealing with allegations of malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is intended to encourage employees and sub-contractors to report known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources and to enable Alinea’s Senior Management team to address and correct inappropriate action. It is the responsibility of all Board of Directors’ members, the Senior Management team, employees and sub-contractors to report concerns about known or suspected malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is applicable to all employees and sub-contractors of Alinea International.

1.3 Reporting Procedures

Alinea recognizes the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. Our internal controls and operating procedures are intended to detect and prevent malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. As detailed in Alinea’s Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals, employees and sub-contractors are encouraged to share complaints and/or concerns regarding ethical or legal violations with their immediate managers. If the employee or sub-contractor is not comfortable speaking with their immediate manager or is not satisfied with the response, they are encouraged to speak with the Gatineau or Calgary Office Managers, the Vice Presidents or, as required, the Chief Financial Officer. All members of the Senior Management team are required to report complaints and/or concerns about suspected ethical or legal violations in writing to Alinea’s Ethics Committee who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints and/or concerns. In the event that the complaint and/or concern is about the President, it should be raised by the employee or sub-contractor to their immediate manager or the Ethics Committee who will determine how the investigation will proceed. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective measures will be taken if warranted by the investigation. Alinea’s Ethics Committee is responsible for acknowledging receipt of the suspected violation and notifying the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation. Anyone filing a written complaint concerning suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Personal grievances or complaints related to employment are not covered under Alinea’s Whistleblowing Policy. For cases such as this, employees and sub-contractors are advised to first refer to Alineas Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals when considering a disclosure under the Whistleblowing Policy. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

1.4 Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality is crucial to ensure reprisals are not made against the whistleblower. Alinea is committed to safeguarding the identity of the whistleblower and to protecting the whistleblower against detrimental action taken in reprisal for allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. The Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring whistleblowers are protected from direct and indirect detrimental action, and that the culture of the workplace is supportive of suspected allegations being made. Any employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

1.5 Review

Alinea is committed to implementing ‘best practice’ policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources (as defined by this Policy) and the management and protection of whistleblowers making allegation(s). This Policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure it meets the objectives of relevant legislation and remains effective for Alinea, and may be changed at the discretion of the Board of Directors at any time. For allegations of fraud, securities law, or human rights concerns, or when you are not satisfied or uncomfortable with following the Company’s open door policy, individuals should contact the Company’s Ethics Committee directly.

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World Water Day: The power of partnership