In Senegal, we work with social movements and coalitions of historically excluded communities to demand new or improved services for sanitation, flood-response, climate change and primary healthcare. We fostered powerful coalitions to support two citizens’ led agendas to improve: 1) sanitation, climate change and flood-response; and 2) healthcare, disability inclusion and gender equity.
people with disabilities received COVID relief
informal settlement residents benefited from improved flood management and sanitation infrastructure
Impacts to date:
Trusting social movements implies trusting the real people. With IBP’s work, we generated data that was meaningful to us and that was so powerful that government was obliged to respond. Using budgets as an instrument changes the nature and impact of our actions.
Madame Dieye, member of the Senegalese Federation of Associations of People with Disabilities. Tweet
We forged a powerful coalition of budget reform allies to support two community groups—UrbaSEN and the Federation of Senegalese Inhabitants—which brings together women’s movements in informal settlements to improve flood mitigation and sanitation facilities for residents. The Senegalese government enacted an ambitious initiative, the Ten Cities Program, which connects households to the sewage system at a subsidized rate and builds toilets in public areas. However, our coalition found that hundreds of thousands of residents were not benefiting because only those households that pay a subscription to the water provision and management company were included and most informal settlement residents cannot afford the subscription fee even when it is subsidized.
Impacts to date:
We now have the opportunity to discuss with key decision-makers that have always been inaccessible for us and voice our concerns. The results we have achieved give us hope that one day we can live in decent homes with proper sanitation.
Aissata Talla, President of the Senegalese Federation of Inhabitants Tweet
In Senegal, we are strengthening connections and impact among civil society groups and other stakeholders to advocate for greater equity in Senegal’s tax system.
Impacts to date:
Our Francophone Africa Initiative is building up a diverse network of groups in West and Central Africa. With 14 organizations from nine countries, it is the largest network of budget organizations in the region. To support their organizational effectiveness, we regranted half of the program’s budget to the members. Between 2021 and 2022, 2,500 people have been trained in budget work and $270,000 has been disbursed in more than 10 grants to support budget advocacy.
Budget credibility refers to the extent to which a government's actual spending deviates from its approved budget. In Senegal, we are assessing spending patterns in three critical sectors: immunization, reproductive health and sanitation. The program seeks to understand the link between spending patterns and service delivery gaps, particularly to bolster the management of public funds in the sectors our grassroots partners have prioritized.