Community-based resource mobilization

Indonesia, CD Bethesda

Since 2007 Community Development Bethesda (CD Bethesda), a member of the ACT Alliance, has been facilitating the provision of primary health care services and activities in the community of Batu Mekar village, Lombok Barat, in Indonesia. One of the primary health care problems faced by this community is accessing safe water and sanitation. Past decentralization processes that were supposed to lead to better governance and poverty reduction had largely failed and pro-poor budgeting and service provision by local government were far from adequate.

CD Bethesda applied a participative rights based approach, involving the community and using a strategy that included mobilising, educating, advocating, creating linkages and networking with other government and NGO actors. An initial needs assessment served to promote awareness in the community of the importance of organizing themselves in order to be able to speak out in a common voice for the rights of the community members.

The Community-Based Organization (CBO) that was created as part of the project successfully lobbied the local government and other relevant government institutions based on the needs identified in the assessment and by making the local authorities aware of the willingness and potential of the community to contribute to the improvement of their water and sanitation services.

→ For more details, download the "Good Practice Questionnaire" that was submitted to the UN Independent Expert on human rights obligation related to water and sanitation in 2010.