Article
From IRC Uganda to Riva Uganda
Carrying the legacy, expanding the ambition
Jane Nabunnya Mulumba reflecting on the transition to Riva Uganda
Beginning something new
For me, the transition from IRC Uganda to Riva Uganda is one of those moments. Having been part of IRC Uganda’s journey for many years, I have had the privilege of seeing our work evolve alongside Uganda’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. I have seen policies develop, institutions strengthen, partnerships deepen and new approaches emerge. I have also learned that meaningful change rarely happens quickly or in a straight line. It is built through relationships, persistence, learning and, sometimes, the courage to change course.
That is why I do not see the transition to Riva Uganda as leaving IRC Uganda behind. I see it as carrying forward what we have learned, building on the relationships and trust established over time, and expanding our ambition to address the wider systems that determine whether public services can perform and last.
We are carrying forward what we have learned, building on the relationships and trust established over time, and expanding our ambition to address the wider systems that determine whether public services can perform and last.
Jane Nabunnya Mulumba, CEO, Riva Uganda
Learning to transform systems
For more than two decades, IRC Uganda has worked alongside government and sector partners to strengthen Uganda’s WASH systems, building strong relationships particularly with the Ministry of Water and Environment, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education and Sports. Through these partnerships, we have contributed to national policies, strategies and frameworks, including the National Water Policy, District Implementation Manual, National Operation and Maintenance Framework and WASH in Health Care Facilities Guidelines.
Working closely with government has taught me that lasting change requires much more than infrastructure. Supporting districts with WASH master planning showed the importance of connecting priorities to evidence, financing and institutional responsibilities, while our work on operation and maintenance reinforced the need for capable institutions, professional capacity and accountability.
I have seen that a water system can be well designed and constructed yet fail to provide lasting services when the systems around it are weak. I have also seen how water and sanitation can determine whether a health facility can provide safe care or a school can provide a healthy environment for children to learn.
These experiences changed how I understood our role. We moved from asking what we deliver to asking what changes because we are there. Our contribution became less about delivering solutions ourselves and more about helping government and other actors understand challenges differently, strengthen capacity, use evidence, test approaches and lead change from within.
I have also learned that systems transformation is inherently collective. No single organisation can change a system alone. It requires government leadership, civil society participation, professional expertise, development partners, communities and institutions working towards shared goals. Platforms such as Uganda Water and Environment Week, UWASNET and the WASH Agenda for Change have created important spaces for dialogue, learning and collective action, while our engagement in regional and global platforms has connected Uganda’s experience with wider learning.
For me, this is the most important legacy of the IRC Uganda journey: lasting change is not measured by what we build or deliver, but by whether the systems, institutions and people are stronger because we were there. This understanding now provides the foundation for Riva Uganda to expand the ambition from strengthening WASH systems to helping transform the wider public systems that shape people’s lives.
Jane Nabunnya (right) at the National WASH Building Blocks Reflection Uganda, July 2026
Why Riva, and why now?
The context in which governments and development organisations operate is changing rapidly. Public resources are under pressure, development financing is becoming less predictable, climate risks are intensifying, and population growth and urbanisation are creating new demands for services. Citizens are also expecting greater responsiveness and accountability.
At the same time, many challenges increasingly cross traditional sector boundaries.
These realities require us to think differently about development support. It is no longer enough to ask whether an intervention was successfully implemented. We must ask whether institutions became stronger, local capacity grew, resources were used more effectively, and systems became better able to adapt.
These are questions I have encountered repeatedly through my work in WASH. They are also why the transition to Riva Uganda feels both timely and necessary. Riva provides an opportunity to take the systems-thinking capabilities developed through WASH and apply them more broadly to public systems and services.
This is not a move away from WASH. WASH is where many of these lessons have been learned. It is an opportunity to apply them more broadly wherever leadership, institutions, financing, professional capability, accountability and implementation intersect.
One of the strongest lessons I carry into Riva is that leadership makes the difference. Good policies and technical solutions only create change when leaders can turn them into action, build trust, navigate complexity and sustain momentum.
For Riva Uganda, this means supporting leaders and institutions to own and lead their transformation, while strengthening the relationships and capabilities that make change sustainable.
A new chapter
For me, the transition from IRC Uganda to Riva Uganda is both personal and strategic. It represents the continuation of relationships built over many years and the application of lessons learned through successes and setbacks. But it is also an invitation to think more boldly about how we contribute to lasting change.
We cannot rely on yesterday’s approaches to solve tomorrow’s problems. We need to strengthen institutions rather than create dependencies, connect policy with implementation and financing, and support leaders who can sustain change beyond individual programmes.
That is the opportunity before Riva Uganda. The name is changing. The relationships continue. The experience remains. But the ambition is growing. From IRC Uganda to Riva Uganda, we are not closing a chapter. We are carrying its lessons into a new one, and expanding what is possible.