Co-director | Growth Hub
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Stef Smits is a senior programme officer and Co-director of IRC's Growth Hub. He has 20 years of professional experience in water supply and sanitation in over 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, Southern Africa, and South Asia. His main thematic expertise includes: institutional models for water supply, sustainability and enabling environment, monitoring, costing and financing of services and integrated water resources management.
Stef has led numerous projects on these topics, and published about them. In addition, he has ample management expertise: from consultancy assignments to multi-annual programmes, and units within an organisation. He has worked for a range of clients including bilateral donors, development banks, research funders and NGOs. Stef holds an MSc degree in Irrigation and Water Engineering from Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Marcala municipality in Honduras is spending a decent amount on WASH, though not yet enough. Read more...
We cannot do it alone. Reflections from the 7th Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Forum. Read more...
Maybe there should have been a disclaimer on the SDGs. Read more...
Elke derde dinsdag in september is het weer spannend: hoe zien de koopkrachtplaatjes eruit? Wat verandert er in de puntenwolken van besteedbaar inkomen? Ondanks alles ziet het koopkrachtplaatje van Minister Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingssamenwerking, Lilianne Ploumen, er voor 2017 nog goed... Read more...
La región de América Latina y el Caribe ha tenido éxito en alcanzar los Objetivos de Desarrollo de Milenio (ODM) para agua y saneamiento. ¿Pero cómo está encaminado para lograr los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS)? ¿El vaso está más bien medio vacío? Read more...
For less than US$12 per person per year a town in Honduras can ensure that everyone's water supply keeps working. Read more...
El Municipio de Chinda alcanzó la cobertura total en los servicios de agua. Sin embargo, el municipio tiene que invertir hasta 11.8 US$/persona en agua cada año para siempre. La buena noticia es que este monto es asequible para el municipio y le permitirá mantener la cobertura total, para siempre... Read more...
In reactie op een artikel dat deze week verscheen in NRC over fraude met Nederlands ontwikkelingsgeld voor schoon drinkwater in Benin, schrijft Stef Smits deze blog. Terugkeren naar projecthulp is geen optie, zegt hij. Read more...
In deze blog voor Vice Versa gaat Stef Smits dieper in op de publieke kritiek die minister Ploumen recent kreeg van Kamerleden Taverne en Smaling. Is hulp aan de allerarmsten niet meetbaar? Is Ploumens beleid niet op feiten gestoeld? Na wat graafwerk komt Stef Smits tot een opmerkelijke conclusie:... Read more...
" Sin salsa no hay paraíso " canta el Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. En Honduras, sin el gran combo, no hay agua. Read more...
Nederland doet goede toezeggingen om drinkwater- en sanitaire voorzieningen aan te leggen. Maar het moet niet voor een dubbeltje op de eerste rang willen zitten. Read more...
The King's speech marks the opening of the Dutch parliamentary year. This year he drew attention to the important position of the Netherlands in the international water sector. The budgets that were presented alongside the speech also reflect this, notably with a 6% increase for the budget for WASH... Read more...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the target of reaching universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. But can this target realistically be achieved in the most difficult of settings: fragile states? Read more...
Mr Belwal is a community facilitator with the Himalaya Institute Hospital Trust, an NGO that, amongst others, develops water supply systems in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, through a programme supported by Himmothan Society. His main responsibility is ensuring that villages that have been "phased out... Read more...
Sangeeta Ramola is the former Pradhan (president) of the Gawana Gram Panchayat (local government), in the State of Uttarakhand, India. Her work and effort shows the importance of local political leaders in achieving access to rural water supply that lasts. Read more...
Two years ago, I posted a blog summarizing discussions on whether insuring rural water supply systems is a good idea. But these remained largely theoretical discussions, as there are few examples of such insurances put in place. During field work for the Community Water Plus project in the State of... Read more...
Honduras es un país cinco estrellas, y no solo por el número de estrellas en su bandera. Aunque en términos de agua y saneamiento tiene un buen desempeño, solo logra cuatro estrellas. Read more...
The COMAS – Municipal Water and Sanitation Committee – of the municipality of El Negrito (in the Department of Yoro, Honduras), is strongly committed to providing universal water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to its citizens. But it needs a plan to get there. And it needs to make a plan... Read more...
Een cruciaal onderdeel van de financiering van de nieuwe ontwikkelingsdoelen 2015 - 2030 is belasting, zo pleiten Stef Smits en Catarina Fonseca in vakblad voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking Vice Versa. Zonder belasting zouden wij in Nederland geen duurzame water- en sanitaire voorzieningen hebben. In... Read more...
Ultimate success in water service delivery is defined by the service level received by households. There can be excellent infrastructure and impeccable administration, but if households don't receive enough water of good enough quality without spending an excessive amount of time collecting it,... Read more...
