WASH Finance blog
This blog addresses issues related to financing strategies and mechanisms for water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in rural and urban areas with a focus on the poorest and sustainability. It includes news collected by the editor of E-Source and contributions from IRC innovation programme staff working on the Financing and Cost Recovery theme and the WASHCost Project.
Mozambique: Indian Exim Bank provides US$ 20 million loan for drinking water project
28 May 08
About two million people in Mozambique’s two most populous provinces, Zambezia and Nampula, are to benefit from clean drinking water, with the opening of 1,600 new water sources, 800 in each province. The Mozambican government signed a financing agreement with the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of India, at the behest of Government of India, [...]
Peru gets US$80mn from Spanish water and sanitation fund
26 May 08
Peru will obtain US$80mn in funding from the water and sanitation cooperation fund, created by the Spanish government. The fund, announced by Spain in November 2007, was launched on 16 May 2008 in Lima, during the Latin America and Caribbean-European Union heads of state summit. Peru will be the first country to receive resources from [...]
AusAID to spend AU$ 300 million on water and sanitation over next 3 years
20 May 08
Australia will invest AU$ 300 million over three years, with AU$ 8 million in 2008-09, to address the critical challenge to health and wellbeing posed by inadequate access to clean water and sanitation. This initiative will improve access for the poor to clean water and effective sanitation in urban, peri-urban and rural areas and provide [...]
Bolivia: Zapatero, Lula to announce potable water support fund
19 May 08
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were scheduled to announce a plan to support the expansion of potable water services in Bolivia on 16 May 2008. Bolivia is one of the countries included in a support programme to be launched by the two heads of state [...]
South Africa: court tells Johannesburg to provide 50 litres of free water per person per day
09 May 08
A landmark High Court ruling against a multi-million-dollar prepaid water scheme in South Africa’s largest township, Soweto, has been heralded as a global precedent in the struggle for the basic human right to water. The City of Johannesburg is expected to appeal the judgement and residents realise that “the struggle will not end anytime soon”.In [...]
Remittances: Kenyan government set to benefit from diaspora bond
06 May 08
April 30, 2008: Kenya is to launch a diaspora bond to help it direct the increasing amount of remittances to development projects and act as a source of cheaper credit to the Government.Concern abounds that a significant amount of remittances sent by the diaspora is used for direct consumption without getting into long term [...]
The Hows and Whys of Water Connection Charges
29 Apr 08
High and upfront water connection charges often act as a major barrier to connecting the poor. So why charge for a connection? Mobile companies provide free phones to attract subscribers. Supermarkets do not charge entrance fees to potential shoppers. Why can this not be applied to water services?There are several answers-from tradition to requiring proof [...]
Vaccine bonds provide model for other aid projects
25 Apr 08
GENEVA (Reuters) - Strong investor demand for a bond used to fund vaccines for the poor shows a novel way to tap money markets to back aid projects in the developing world.Alan Gillespie, chairman of the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), told Reuters there was “almost limitless” demand for highly-rated bonds like those his [...]
Kenya: free water for slum residents
23 Apr 08
The Government will soon provide, at no cost, at least 40 litres of water a day per household in slum areas.The decision was reached following the recent outbreak of cholera in various parts of the country, Water and Irrigation minister Charity Ngilu said.Mrs Ngilu told a news conference: “Water in the slum areas is very [...]
Kenya: Water Set to Cost More As Body Effects New Rules
23 Apr 08
Electricity and water tariffs could rise even further following a decision by the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) to impose a new charge on water users - including hydro power producers like KenGen and suppliers of tap water.In the past, companies and individuals have drawn water for free from water sources, but that will have [...]
