1. A new funding approach could bring clean water to the world’s poorest households
- Author:
- Matthew Eldridge and Chloe Hauenstein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- The World Health Organization estimates that more than 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services. At the current pace, the world will fall short of meeting one of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs): to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. Accelerating to meet the SDGs for water and sanitation will cost as much as $166 billion a year for capital expenditures alone. Although critical to global efforts, utilities and municipalities serving the poorest households face three large hurdles, resulting in a funding gap that prevents them from meeting customers’ demand for clean water: They often cannot cover their operational and maintenance costs through existing tariffs and transfers alone. Higher tariffs, without improved service, would create an unsustainable burden for the poorest households, who may prefer not to connect to piped services at all. Operating at a loss, these utilities are not creditworthy and cannot tap private finance to make needed investments.
- Topic:
- Poverty, World Health Organization, Water, and Funding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus