Life-cycle cost approach has been adapted to cost the provision of water services to refugees in camps
Published on: 10/09/2014
The report details the information required to cost the provision of a water service in a camp, the tool that has been developed to assess the level of service delivered to refugees and the calculations that convert financial expenditure into cost per system, per capita and m3.
In a refugee context, this methodology is particularly adapted to post-emergency situations, when more permanent water systems are built and financial resources must be budgeted for to cover the operation and (minor and capital) maintenance of systems, but also the support for administration, management, monitoring and reporting functions endorsed by international agencies. However, the methodology could fit first emergency situations as well, as all the expenditure made on the provision of water is documented since the creation of the camp. The costs of providing water during the first emergency phase are thus identified, and could be compared across camps, time and countries to refine budgeting processes and budgeted expenditure also for a specific and usually short period of time.
