Country: Bangladesh

Sanitation for all is a challenge particularly acute for low and middle-income countries. In the face of funding constraints, and a lack of political influence among those living in poorer areas, governments have tended to under-prioritise sanitation as a public investment
area.

Yet, countries have committed to the Sustainable Development Goal for sanitation. In doing so, governments have pledged to the Leaving no one behind principle, and to reaching the underserved as a matter of priority. A key question in this endeavour is which financing models can support governments’ ambitions for citywide sanitation.

This publication explores how high-quality sanitation can be financed in low-income urban areas in developing contexts. It is based on
findings from four research projects conducted under WSUP’s Urban Sanitation Research Initiative 2016–2020 (USRI), funded by UK Aid:

1. A research project led by the Aquaya Institute and conducted in five cities – Kisumu (Kenya), Nakuru (Kenya), Malindi (Kenya), Kumasi (Ghana), and Rangpur (Bangladesh) – identified the costs of sanitation services and the willingness-to-pay of poor urban households for those services (this research is referred to as SanCost in this paper);
2. A second research project led by the Aquaya Institute and which carried out a comparison of service models, financing models and willingness-to-pay for faecal sludge emptying services in Kisumu (Kenya);
3. A third research project by the Aquaya Institute that considered the willingness-to-pay of utility customers for a sanitation surcharge on the water bill to cross-subsidise sanitation for the poor in two Kenyan cities; and
4. Finally, a research project led by Dr. Charles Yaw Oduro (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology) and conducted in two districts in Ghana that examined policy-makers and taxpayers’ attitudes towards a sanitation surcharge on the property tax.

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During 2020-2021, WSUP’s work became more vital than ever before, with the Covid-19 pandemic driving increased need for general good hygiene practices.

Our Annual Report shows where, how, and how much WSUP’s work has benefited the communities it serves across Africa and south Asia.

In the year to March 2021, despite global challenging circumstances, WSUP reached:

515,000 people with improved water access

721,000 residents with improved sanitation services;

5.5 million people with improved access to good hygiene;

and mobilised $8 million in additional investment.

Lord Paul Boateng, WSUP’s chairman, says in his opening message:

“As a world leader in research and practical assistance in the market-led delivery of access to urban water, sanitation and hygiene, our efforts are critical to the achievement of SDG 6, clean water and sanitation, and SDG 11, sustainable communities and cities.”

Neil Jeffery, WSUP’s CEO, adds:

“Covid-19 highlighted how vital water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is, how central it can be to combating disease and how WSUP’s expertise is fundamental to overcoming that challenge in urban areas.”

Download WSUP Annual Report 2020-21

 

For the poorest urban residents, one of the most significant ways in which climate change is affecting their lives is through access to water and sanitation.

In sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, water and sanitation service providers are struggling to respond to the needs of communities, and climate change is making it harder for these providers to expand services to keep pace with urbanisation. This challenge represents a major threat towards the ability of cities to adapt to climate change and could compromise their future sustainability.

This report analyses the impacts of climate change on access to water and sanitation across cities and towns in seven countries. It outlines the challenges that service providers are facing and documents initiatives that are taking place to tackle the issue. Based on this analysis, WSUP presents four recommendations for helping water and sanitation providers to tackle the threat caused by climate change.

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