Partnerships

Alliance for Sustainable Food Systems and Empowered Communities (Sufosec)

The Sufosec Alliance is a partnership between the Swiss NGOs Aqua Alimenta, Fastenaktion, Skat Foundation, Swissaid, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Suisse, and Vivamos Mejor. Building on each member’s strength, the Alliance focuses on activities related to sustainable food systems and empowering communities. Strengthening nutritional security through service provision, shorter supply chains, local agroecological production, climate change adaptation, and participatory research are at the core of the Alliance.

Its joint programme, launched in January 2021, is co-funded by SDC Institutional Partnerships. The programme will be implemented in partnership with NGOs and CSOs in 27 countries, targeting 5 objectives. The Alliance member organisations pool resources to create and share knowledge, and to explore and use synergies both in Switzerland and in the programme countries. SuFoSEC’s learning projects were launched around the key topics of the Alliance: agroecology, local ownership, and the triple nexus.

Click here to watch Sufosec’s video (in German).

hands4health – “Hand hygiene, water quality and sanitation in primary health care and schools not connected to functional water supply systems”

The hands4health consortium is a joint initiative of NGOs, academia, and private sector entities aiming to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to hand hygiene, water quality, and sanitation in primary health care facilities and schools. The four-year research project (2021-2024) integrates the TRANSFORM Programme of the Swiss Agency for Development (SDC) and is being implemented in Switzerland (lab research) and in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, and Palestine (field development).

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 (Nigeria), 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 (JMP Global Baseline Report, 2019).

REAL-Water – Rural Evidence and Learning for Water

Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL-Water) is an implementation research program (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 six partners, namely The Aquaya Institute, Aguaconsult, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Skat Foundation’s Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN), Safe Water Network and Water Mission.

REAL-Water has three main components: 

  1. Implementation research that applies scientific methods and rigorous analyses
  2. Evidence-based decision-making support 
  3. Coordination with related programs contributing to the WASH knowledge base. 

It aims to support policymakers, development partners, and service providers to make strategic decisions and implement good 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 Ghana, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, with additional countries under evaluation.

Skat Foundation also partners with:

Africa AHEAD; African Development Bank (AfDB); All Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Communities; Ask for Water GmbH; Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, la Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA); benevol St. Gallen; BlueAct Technologies Ltd.; British Geological Survey (BGS); Caritas Switzerland (CACH); Corporación Comabaquinta; EAWAG – Sandec; DESPRO NGO ; EcoPartner Ltd.; EOS International; Energy Action Partners – ENACT; Geruwa Rural Awareness Association; Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation; Institute for Hydrological Education (IHE); Jacana Foundation; Hydro-empowerment Network – HPNET; Southern Highlands Participatory Organisation (SHIPO); Social Programme Prosofi of the Javeriana University; Rayaka Laya; Skat Consulting Ltd; Sociedad Científica Cubana para el Desarrollo de la Familia; Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC); Swiss Toilet Organisation; Swiss Water Partnership; Terre des Hommes Switzerland (Tdh); HABITAR; University of St. Gallen; University of Oxford – REACH; The Hermanas del Apostolado del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús; UNESCO; and UNICEF.