Experts estimate that 20-30% of funds and materials are diverted from sanitation programmes in South India due to corruption. The Socio-Economic Unit Foundation (SEUF) has successfully employed a number of anti-corruption strategies in a participatory and community-based household sanitation programme, serving more than 200,000 families in 200 Panchayats (communities). It has become a model for many other regions in India.

The lessons SEUF has learned from the programme include:

• learning from experience
• using different strategies
• including all stakeholders
• using preventative measures
• reserving enough time and resources for participation and capacity building
• focusing on quality assurance rather than anti-corruption.

Read more in the Water Integrity Network (WIN) best practice information sheet on the project written by Kochurani Mathew. See also the project case study and corresponding list of tools used in the project here.

Related news: Corruption in the water sector: overlooked threat for development and sustainability, Source News, 18 Aug 2008

Tags: capacity development, governance, transparency