WaterAid: Analysing financing gaps in water, sanitation and hygiene

Read about our work analysing financing gaps in achieving universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene for WaterAid.

We were commissioned by WaterAid to produce three country studies on the progress, challenges and opportunities for meeting Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) on universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) by 2030.

Our brief

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) aims to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. In order to gain a comprehensive picture of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situation and inform their planning, WaterAid needed up-to-date analysis on WASH financing in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Based on previous consultancies, we were commissioned to provide research and analysis on WASH financing in these three focus countries. This analysis enabled WaterAid to make key recommendations on priorities and improvements needed in the WASH sector, and wider environment, in the target countries.

What we delivered

We produced three detailed case studies on Ethiopia, Nigeria and Pakistan, identifying current progress and challenges in the WASH sector. The Nigerian case study, Equal to the task: financing for a state of emergency in Nigeria's WASH sector is available on the WaterAid website. Our research examined trends in public and private financing versus requirements to meet SDG6 and assessed the opportunities to scale up funding. Based on our findings, we highlighted opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of spending in these countries.

For the analysis, we developed an intervention-based needs assessment methodology to estimate the cost requirements of universal WASH provision within the target countries. To do this, we secured coverage and unit cost data from national household surveys and subnational costing exercises. We were commissioned due to our expert knowledge in measuring progress of the poorest people, as well as our extensive experience of working directly with national and local government actors on resource allocation decisions and open data.

Results

WaterAid has used findings from our case studies for its global engagement work, including presentations at international forums. The case studies also supported engagement by country teams with state actors in each of the three countries, helping with the identification of upcoming focus areas. The case study template and costing methodology is also being used to develop a more globally focused piece of research for WaterAid.

“Throughout the project, DI produced high-quality research, developing a model to assess the costs of achieving universal access to WASH in the three countries. The project involved close collaboration with WaterAid Country Programmes in the three countries. DI were efficient and flexible in managing these relationships. The final case studies were all of a very high standard, and effectively addressed the key issues in the terms of reference agreed at the beginning of the project.”

John Garrett, Senior Policy Analyst – Development Finance, WaterAid

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