Bringing water to the poor : selected ADB case studies

As the lead agency in the Water and Poverty Initiative, a multiagency partnership forged in preparation for the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, in March 2003, the ADB works with collaborating organisations toward the shared goal of improving water security for the poor. The initiative recognizes four aspects as critical to improving lives of poor people in Asia and the Pacific : the availability of water for production and income generation; water, sanitation, and hygiene for health; sustainable environmental management; and vulnerability to water-related disasters.

This publication presents 12 case studies that give an overview of the types of poverty reduction projects ADB is either currently engaged in or has recently undertaken in the water sector. They demonstrate ADB’s commitment to help further global efforts to the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation and are taken from a range of ADB’s developing member countries, covering issues from water supply and sanitation to irrigation and drought relief. They represent a variety of development approaches, including : loans (water supply in the Philippines and Pakistan); technical assistance projects (community awareness and health in Viet Nam), and partnerships (donor cooperation on water supply for Timor-Leste). The cases highlight projects at various stages of completion, including : project design, (sanitation in Papua New Guinea); midterm review (water supply in Kiribati); complete, evaluated loan projects (irrigation and water supply in the Philippines); and innovative approaches to tackling complex water supply issues (the role of small-scale water providers in serving the urban poor).