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.
Grants program: Innovation for Inclusive Development - Latin America
16 Apr 08
The Science and Technology Division of the Inter-American Development Bank is pleased to announce the launch of its grants program: Innovation for Inclusive Development.The objective of the program is to foster the development and dissemination of innovations in products, processes and services and engender solutions with the potential of improving the quality of life of [...]
Bangladesh: Nobel laureate Yunus teams up with Veolia Water
15 Apr 08
In Paris, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus unveiled a deal between his pioneering Grameen Bank and French multinational Veolia Water to provide clean water to poor rural communities in Bangladesh.The new company, Grameen-Veolia Water Ltd, will be 50% owned by Veolia Water AMI (Africa, Middle East, India) and 50% by Grameen Healthcare (a [...]
Mexico: Conagua promotes US$14bn national water and sanitation plan
15 Apr 08
Mexican authorities are trying to attract foreign investment for their US$14bn national water and sanitation plan. The plan will reduce government spending on health care while upgrading the population’s living standards, said José Ramón Ardavín of the national water authority Conagua.Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 8 Apr 2008
Colombia: more than 800 municipalities risk losing access to water funding
15 Apr 08
Almost 80% of Colombia’s municipalities risk losing their participation in the Sistema General de Participaciones (SGP), or general revenue sharing system, according to Colombia’s public services regulator Superservicios. This is because they have either not transferred resources to the solidarity and income redistribution fund (FSRI) or they have failed to submit reports to the national [...]
Colombia: Government attracts pension fund investment in water, infrastructure projects
15 Apr 08
Colombian government authorities are promoting investment in infrastructure development projects among local pension funds, national planning department (DNP) head Carolina Rentería told BNamericas. Pension savings have increased tremendously over the last years and authorities see infrastructure initiatives, including drinking water and sanitation services, as attractive due to their long-term sustainability.Source: Eva Medalla, BNamericas.com [subscription site], [...]
Brazil: Lower house approves bills on water meters and sewage charges
15 Apr 08
Brazil’s lower house approved a bill proposal making household water meters obligatory in apartments and condominiums. Up till now water costs were based on total water use and divided equally between households.A second bill, submitted by the consumer defense committee, stipulating sewage service rates should not be more than half of that for potable water [...]
Peru: IDB to provide US$350mn for water projects
04 Apr 08
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will lend more than US$350mn to Peru over the next five years for the development of sanitation and water projects, benefiting over 100,000 families. The funding will cover investment, structural reforms and technical cooperation, assisting initiatives in the areas surrounding capital Lima and other cities.In 2007 the IDB launched the [...]
Burkina Faso: Flush With New Funds for Water and Sanitation
03 Apr 08
OUAGADOUGOU, 28 March 2008 (IRIN) - Donors announced in March that they will invest US $1.2 billion into Burkina Faso’s water sector, to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving the number of people in the world who lack access to safe drinking water by 2015. (…) Ambitious infrastructures The new funds, which [...]
Introducing participatory budgeting for better service delivery and transparency in Africa
27 Mar 08
Senior officials representing governments, local authorities and NGOs from 29 African countries gathered from 10-14 March 2008 in Durban, South Africa, for the first Africa Regional Seminar on Participatory Budgeting – participatory budgeting (PB) is a system that gives the public a say and an eye on how municipal funds are spent. From an experimental [...]
Limits of pricing policy in curtailing household water consumption under scarcity conditions
27 Mar 08
Salmana, A., Al-Karablieha, E. and Haddadinb, M. (2008). Limits of pricing policy in curtailing household water consumption under scarcity conditions. Water policy ; vol. 10, no. 3 : p. 295–304. doi:10.2166/wp.2008.040A key policy question in designing urban water policy and institutional reforms is: what should be the appropriate structure of water charges to ensure long-term [...]
