The UK Government has supported WSUP since inception in 2005.

Since then, WSUP has developed itself, with the UK Government’s support, into a key global resource for facilitating pro-poor institutional change in lower-income country utilities and municipalities, as well as in supporting private sector and household involvement in ensuring safe and sustainable public health improvements.

The UK Government has invested in core funding – supporting their target of helping 60 million people gain access to water and sanitation. WSUP have also been key partners for the UK Government and Unilever’s Hygiene Behaviour Change Coalition, supporting rapid response to contain and limit the spread of Covid-19 in Ghana and Kenya.

Blog: October 2020 – Handwashing in 2020: working with utilities to protect the most vulnerable

Blog: October 2018 – Keep your hands clean! Preventing diseases, saving lives

Blog: July 2018 – Clean water for the residents of one of Africa’s largest rubbish dumps

Blog: October 2017 -Staying healthy in Bangladesh through improved hygiene practices

The UK Government has also supported WSUP’s Urban Sanitation Research Initiative, which is a 2017–2020 programme of rigorous research designed to drive pro-poor sector change in urban sanitation in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya and globally. It is led by WSUP in collaboration with key in-country partners, and core-funded by UK aid from the UK government.

Street scene in Chittagong, BangladeshBlog: August 2017 – Scoping urban sanitation services in three countries

Report: June 2019 – Designing and delivering research-into-use programmes in the WASH sphere

WSUP is a key partner for DFID in the delivery of market-based solutions for poverty alleviation in fast-growing cities in Africa and Asia. WSUP’s innovative approach to developing sustainable water and sanitation services for the poorest consumers in these cities is highly respected and valued.

James Wharton, MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State DFID