Sustainability is a core concept in both development and humanitarian work but considered more challenging in the latter. Nonetheless, it is vital to integrate sustainability concerns whenever possible when providing assistance and protection.
“Sustainability refers to “the extent to which overall objectives will be maintained after the activity has been completed in technical, organisational and financial terms”.
As an ideal, DRC should strive to undertake programmes that from the onset are meant to be sustainable in the long term. However, the fact that DRC operates in complex emergencies makes this ideal difficult to accomplish as a rule. DRC’s humanitarian mandate calls for involvement in situations whose outcome relies on factors beyond the organisation’s control - factors of war and political decisions. Alleviating the suffering of conflict affected populations (e.g. by facilitating reintegration), may warrant construction projects limited in time and scope, where the process (building) is not sustainable but the end-result (integration) is. Further, it should be recognized that certain types of interventions are not intended to be sustainable in their initial form. That may for example, be the case with life-saving interventions.
It is useful to distinguish three ways of thinking about sustainability, using the above case from water supply in Afghanistan as an illustrative example (through which the link between sustainability and the operational principle of replicability is further underlined):
- the sustainability of the programme itself (or part thereof) and/or the approaches used. A relevant question here is whether DA CAAR s approach led to the development of a national strategy for rural water supply that was promoted by the authorities and adapted by all agencies working in the sector;
- the sustainability of the intervention that has resulted from the programme. The key question is whether the drinking water facility continues functioning as intended throughout the life span of the handpump itself; and
- the sustainability of the changes brought about in people lives by the programme. This relates to the overall objective of the drinking water programme: whether there is a sustained reduction in the prevalence of water borne diseases.
As much as possible, sustainability should be taken into account in the early stages of programme design and implementation. Final evaluations of interventions should also assess the extent to which post-project sustainability has been achieved.
Means to secure sustainability could, for examples, include the following measures:
- Making sure that the activities are a priority in the local setting so that the motivation for sustaining them exists in the community;
- Implementing social and physical structures only where the local community already possesses resources to provide maintenance, or alternatively…
- Providing the training and capacity building of the beneficiaries necessary for them to continue the activities implemented thorough a programme; and
- Strengthening local institutions other than the target group itself (local authorities, NGO s) in order for them to continue programme activities or maintenance of rehabilitated structures.
