Progress towards sustainable development goal 6.b : determining effectiveness of intervention entry points for community-based WASH development in the Kingdom of Tonga : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Science, College of Health, Massey University, New Zealand

Abstract

Despite global advances in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Tonga continues to report some of the lowest rates of access to safely managed water and sanitation worldwide. Although community engagement is prioritised across the development sector, including within Tonga’s WASH development, limited guidance exists as to how this should occur, or how “community” itself is conceptualised. This research responds to this gap, examining the impact of how interventions define and engage with communities, on the success of community-based WASH interventions in Tonga. This research focuses on intervention entry points to community, aiming to strengthen evidence-based guidance for community-based WASH development in Tonga. It identifies four primary intervention entry points (intervention-initiated, place-based, local institution-based, and faith-based communities) and produces an initial comparison of their conceptual strengths and limitations. These insights are then field-tested and refined through a mixed-methods case study of drinking-water development on the island of ’Eua, centred on the 2020 ’Eua Water Security Project delivered by the Mainstreaming of Rural Development and Innovation Tonga Trust. Drawing on community development plans (2019, 2025), census data, and 12 semi structured interviews, the case study also compares community-engagement approaches used by three major agencies in Tonga’s water sector. Findings indicate the need for implementers to critically interrogate their assumptions about community and the implications these assumptions have for engagement strategies. Substantial differences in entry-point performance are highlighted, with key areas of divergence being capacity to support long-term governance and resourcing, and capacity to facilitate implementers’ understanding of target communities. Critically, the success of any entry point is seen to depend on an intervention’s goals, capacities, and constraints. Field research focused on the place-based entry point, found that challenges linked to high community diversity can be mitigated through targeted tools and organising mechanisms, including community WASH plans and community development plans. Intervention assessment refers to five components of intervention success (appropriateness, effectiveness, impact, equity, and sustainability). Evaluation of this framework demonstrates its utility for further use in the assessment of Pacific WASH interventions, contributing to stronger coordination and learning across the sector.