Partnerships

Sufosec (for Sustainable Food Systems and Empowered Communities), the Swiss Alliance for Sustainable Food Worldwide, is an alliance of six international cooperation NGOs. Their common goal is to sustainably reduce hunger and malnutrition by strengthening local food systems and communities on the basis of agroecological methods. The cooperation has been in place since 2020 and is being continuously intensified; it brings together the complementary expertise and experience of all stakeholders in the North and South and creates synergies for the efficient use of funds. The effect is systematically reviewed and improved.

The alliance organisations are Fastenaktion, SWISSAID, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Suisse, Vivamos Mejor, Aqua Alimenta and Skat Foundation. They are currently involved in a total of over 450 projects in poverty-stricken countries in the global South – in close cooperation with local civil society organisations. Together, they want to achieve the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with regard to hunger and malnutrition in the participating programme areas. The alliance is financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) as part of its programme contributions. A continuation of the cooperation is planned for the period 2025 to 2028.

Hands4health is a joint initiative of NGOs, academia and private sector entities working to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to hand hygiene, water quality and sanitation in primary health care facilities and schools not connected to functional water supply. The four-year research project (2021-2024) has a budget of CHF 4,700,000 funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and benefits an estimated 97,000 vulnerable people in 4 countries. In Mali and Burkina Faso, the project concentrates on primary health care staff; in Nigeria and Palestine, the intervention tackles primary schoolchildren.

The consortium comprises University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), University of Maiduguri, Palestine Polytechnic University, Terre des hommes, Cesvi, Skat Foundation, RANAS Ltd. and Martin Systems GmbH. Together, the partners envision to change the current reality of low- and middle-income countries, where 45% of primary health care facilities and 50% of schools do not have access to handwashing, basic hygiene and water supply systems.

Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL-Water) is an implementation research programme (2021-2026) launched by USAID that aims to develop strategies to expand access to safe, equitable, and sustainable rural water supplies in low- and middle-income countries. REAL-Water draws knowledge from a consortium of ten partners, namely the Aquaya Institute, Aguaconsult, Johns Hopkins University, Hydroconseil, the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Skat Foundation’s Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN), Safe Water Network, Water Mission and Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods (WELL) Labs.

REAL-Water has three main components:

1. Implementation research that applies scientific methods, international collaboration and rigorous analyses
2. Evidence for decision-making by national policymakers and government officials, development partners, and public and private sector service providers
3. Coordination and collaboration with related programmes that are contributing to the WASH knowledge base

It aims to support policymakers, development partners, and service providers to make strategic decisions and implement best practices for rural water management. REAL-Water focal areas comprise Water Provider Performance, Water Resources and Water Safety. The focal countries for field research include Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Peru, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, with additional countries under evaluation.