Patrick (Kipchirchir) Ronoh-Strategic Programmes Senior Officer

• Planned, implemented, and monitored of the Gates Foundation funded Inclusive Urban Sanitation project and reported throughout the project cycle. As the budget holder, I was responsible for budget management, and adequate and timely quality financial reporting according to the donor requirements.

• Built, developed, and cultivated relationships with key African regional platforms, public sector officials, private service operators, technical and financial partners, and community and civil society organizations.

• Supported partner efforts to work with governments to mainstream and institutionalize key sanitation approaches and frameworks within municipal, sub-national, and national service systems as well as integrate sanitation with urban resilience and climate resilience agendas.

• Engaged in frequent communications and build relationships with government officials at various levels, with a focus on service delivery authorities.

• Supported the development of the technical programmes for IWA's Tier 1 conferences mainly the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition and IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition.

• Positioned IWA as a sector leader in sanitation and strengthened regional momentum on Inclusive Urban Sanitation, wider knowledge exchange across Africa and Asia, in collaboration with regional networks, donors, development banks, UN agencies, NGOs and African sector institutions.

• Delivered a global CWIS consultation involving over 50 organisations. The consultation generated a publication on lessons on CWIS implementation, identified key factors for accelerating progress towards SDG 6.2, and informed sector reflections on the future of sanitation beyond 2030.

• Documentation and disseminated of Inclusive Urban Sanitation knowledge through 35 case studies across Africa, Asia and Latin America; 11 webinars with partners including WHO, the World Bank, UN-Habitat and AfDB; 13 workshops at IWA Congresses; approximately 20 workshops across global, regional and national partner events; 14 articles in The Source magazine; 4 major discussion papers; 13 videos; and key in-person events including the Innovation Acceleration Forum, SanitAction Innovators Expo, High-level Summit, IUS Champions Programme and IUS Forum.

Tools for data collection

• Participated in the development of interview schedules for the Water Sanitation for the Urban Poor and World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programs.
• Set up survey forms in CommCare; an open-source mobile platform designed for data collection, client management, decision support, and behavior change communication.
• Managed SMS-based survey (using a bulk SMS service called EchoMobile) sent out to participants from the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program in Kenya. The survey was on the rate of installation of the plastic latrine slabs.
• Wrote code books for the research programs.

Field research

• Field coordinator for the Water Sanitation for the Urban Poor and World Bank's Water and Sanitation programs in Kenya.
• Specific activities included conducting scoping visits, recruiting and supervising enumerators, co-facilitating the enumerator training, overseeing data collection, ensuring data quality through quality control checks, and managing field logistics and troubleshooting.
• Conducted focus group discussions, key informant interviews (in-depth interviews), and household interviews.

Data management

• Managed data collected by enumerators through an open-source mobile platform (CommCare) for the Water Sanitation for the Urban Poor and World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programs.
• Maintained clear data records for USAID's Water Sanitation and Hygiene Partnership and Learning for Sustainability program (WASHPaLS).
• Managed data entry, cleaning, and analysis of qualitative data for the Water Sanitation for the Urban Poor and World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programs using QSR nVivo software.

Dissemination

• Produced research briefs for twenty-six program partners from six African countries that participated in the Monitoring for Safe Water program (MFSW) supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The program sought to identify and evaluate constraints to water management in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Presented program outcomes at conferences, workshops, and technical working groups on WASH.

AquayaLEARN fellowship

• Assisted with the recruitment of research fellows by attending interviews. This was part of the AquayaLEARN-Leading an Empowered African Research Network program that sought to inspire African students to tackle water and sanitation challenges in Africa.

• Mentored an AquayaLEARN fellow for three months.

• USAID's Water Sanitation and Hygiene Partnership and Learning for Sustainability program (WASHPaLS): Conducted desk reviews for program related tasks and managed the Mendeley library with 5000+ materials used for the desk review.

• In collaboration with the Water Sanitation for the Urban Population, conducted quantitative and qualitative research to determine factors influencing willingness of non-poor water customers in Kenyan cities to pay a pro-poor sanitation surcharge. The study found 75% of surveyed customers were willing to pay an additional fee, with a median willingness to pay of KES 100 per month, generating evidence that informed regulatory discussions with Water Services Regulatory Board.

• With World Bank's Water Sanitation Program (WSP), conducted a randomized controlled trial in rural Kenya aimed to compare different marketing strategies for plastic latrine slabs and assess their health benefits (Sanitation Marketing). The study generated evidence on sanitation product uptake, including an average willingness to pay of approximately US$5 against a market price of about US$16, while highlighting key barriers such as pricing gaps and limited grassroots marketing.

Public health engineering

• Participated in the planning, designing, timely implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions, particularly community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation (PHAST) for communities and schools.
• Undertook water quality analysis as per water quality technical guidelines approved by the WHO.
• Helped coordinate solid and liquid waste management activities, this involved capacity-building programs for waste managers, enforcement of relevant laws and regulations related to solid waste, and coordination of healthcare waste.

Community Health

• Participated in hygiene and sanitation promotion activities through the development and dissemination of information, education, and communication (IEC) materials as well as behavior change communication.
• Implemented strategies for the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases through periodic surveillance activities.
• Co-trained and supported community-based health organizations that advocate for positive social behavior change, addressing malaria and HIV/AIDS.
• Assisted the County director of public health in the implementation of strategies that addressed emerging and re-emerging diseases as per the international health regulations.
• Participated in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of infection prevention and control (IPC) activities in health facilities and other institutions through capacity-building programmes for health workers.

General public health

• Assisted in the inspection and approval of schools for registration.
• Participated in enforcement of public health laws and regulations for example through drafting statutory notices for compliance or prosecution.
• Approved building plans, conducted property inspection, and participated in the issuance of certificates of occupancy upon completion of a building.

Public health research

• Identified research gaps and participated in the development of research proposals and concept notes on specific public health focus areas.

• Supported training on research and evidence-based planning, programming and policy development, mobilized resources for research, trained research teams, conducted research and disseminated findings.

• Coordinated and monitored the successful rollout of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) protocols in Kericho County.

• Using Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), triggered and declared Open Defecation Free 100 villages in Kericho County.

• Trained and mentored 50 Community Health Workers.