Put that question to Chris Dunston, senior program officer at the Hilton Foundation, and he’ll give you this answer: Philanthropists can assume some of the risk by showing larger organizations, such as the World Bank, that WASH models like the one Hilton is trying in Ghana are effective.
As we’ve reported before, Hilton supports WASH groups working in water-stressed regions in Africa, India, and Mexico.
It has staked out a prominent spot in the WASH space, along with funders like the Gates, Ikea, and Caterpillar foundations.
Hilton’s strategy in this area has been evolving in recent years, as we’ve reported, and Ghana is one of six countries with active projects as part of Hilton’s 2017-2021 WASH grantmaking blueprint.
Related: This work focuses on advancing WASH solutions and models that are proven and show promise, strengthening in-country water governance systems, and “building and disseminating credible and actionable evidence.” In Ghana and elsewhere, Hilton is working on district-based programs to bring multiple disciplines together.
“In Ghana you have 216 district assemblies, and the local and regional authorities are bound by government edicts,” Dunston, who works on the foundation’s Safe Water Strategy, told Inside Philanthropy.
“Ghana is further along than neighboring countries that Hilton Foundation has work in.
In Uganda, Hilton awarded Water for People $3 million to support its ongoing work in the rural Kamwenge District.
When the Hilton Foundation laid out its WASH plans with its Safe Water program in 2010, it stressed access to safe water and sanitation as a major global health and development challenge.
Will the Hilton model work in Ghana?