Can African reporters equipped with smart phones help improve accountability and transparency in development aid?

Why did this work?

Because people could see what the project was about! They could see with their own eyes that these projects needed support. People need to know that the money they donate goes to the project that needs it and not to the production of another brochure or overhead of some international organization.

At the same time how did this project fail?

Because theses videos were not used to engage local communities and media in the process. We were successful in getting the funds needed for the projects but we did not get local government, organizations, communities and individuals involved in the process.

We want to change this.

Last fall we were lucky to find a partner in the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, a leading advocate for sustainable WASH services, and their Ghanaian counterpart, Resource Centre Network Ghana, a unique source of knowledge for Water and Sanitation issues in Ghana.

We joined together with the idea that we could do better.

By joining forces we have the power to train local African reporters in key issues related to sustainability, socio-economic and health impacts, corruption prevention and monitoring and evaluation basics.

Not only to establish an independent monitoring and evaluation program for the 500 sector organizations (including local and foreign Government and NGO organizations) active in the country, but in the interest to engage local communities and media in the process.

 1) It is a fact that diarrhea, a disease largely attributable to unsafe water and poor hygiene, contributes to the high child mortality rate in Ghana.

 2) It is a fact that an estimated 3.4 million school days of 5 to 14 year olds are lost to diarrhea.

 3) It is a fact that one in 5 Ghanaians has to defecate in the open because they have no access to a toilet.

 4) For every dollar we invest in Water and Sanitation in Sub Sahara Africa you get a rate of return of six dollars. (Based on the number of days adults or their children get sick – purely a result of the loss in man hours, cost of medicine and loss of income. Not to mention the time and energy people spend securing safe water supply)

Local reporters are an important agent in bringing about change. They have the power to tell local stories from a local perspective and in a way that no one else can. They have the power to improve the living standards in their own communities. They have the power to engage their citizens, media and government in this important debate.

Author: Ben White

Source: Master of MEdia, university of Amstredam

Posting date: February 25th, 2009