GOVERNANCE AS A STRUCTURING VARIABLE OF WATER- SANITATION-HYGIENE SECTOR PERFORMANCE: A SYSTEMIC AND MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS

Management

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector continues to face persistent challenges related to service sustainability, equity of access, and overall system performance, despite substantial technical and financial investments made over recent decades. These recurring shortcomings highlight the limitations of fragmented, sector-based approaches and underline the need for integrated analytical frameworks capable of capturing the structural determinants of performance. This article analyzes the role of governance in shaping overall WASH system performance through a systemic approach based on the 5M framework (Manpower, Methods, Materials, Means, and Management/Governance) combined with a multi-criteria analysis encompassing sustainability, equity, resilience, coordination, and overall performance. The methodology relies on a qualitative and conceptual analysis of the WASH value chain, supported by a review of scientific and institutional literature. Governance is conceptualized as an endogenous and structuring variable organizing interactions among system components rather than a contextual or normative factor. Results show that WASH performance does not stem from isolated optimization of resources but from coherent interactions enabled by effective governance mechanisms. Coordination emerges as the central mediating mechanism through which governance influences sustainability, equity, resilience, and overall system performance. Overall performance thus appears as an emergent property of the WASH system, dependent on governance quality rather than resource availability alone.

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