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When we stop asking how much it costs to dig a well and start asking how much it costs to provide access to drinking water forever, everything changes.

WASH news and events

Search and explore all 350 articles here

Community members and local government representatives waiting for a meeting to start

Decentralised public financing for WASH in India

Report of an August 2020 webinar with representatives from national, state and local government and...
Shashemene and Negelle Arsi Woredas discussing on the SDG planning

Planning for sustainable WASH services in Negelle Arsi and Shashamane woredas

In order to achieve improved and sustainable WASH services, IRC WASH Ethiopia has been working on...
Cover Watershed working paper on budget tracking in Odisha

Helping Indian CSOs do budget tracking

Two new Watershed India working papers draw lessons from research in Bihar and Odisha.
Panel of the Watershed India workshop in Odisha

Accountability and transparency of and to village councils need improving

A Watershed India workshop looked into the role of the Gram Panchayat (village council) in WASH...
Cover CBGA report in Union Budget 2020-21

Can India meet its new ambitions for sanitation and water?

An analysis of the government's 2020-21 budget shows allocations may not be enough.
IRC shares GivingTuesday experiences at Salesforce`s Dot org conference

Looking back on our first #GivingTuesdayNL

Focusing lasers and sharing a different kind of giving message works.
A water for production dam under construction in Karangura sub county

Keeping tabs on WASH sector financing in Uganda

An analysis by IRC Uganda and a CSO group reveals higher targets amidst reduced funding.
Building bridges in Bhola Bangladesh

Building bridges in Bhola, Bangladesh

By participating in decision making, a citizen committee helps local government budget effectively...
Minister of Local Government (left), receives copies of the district WASH Masterplan from Kabarole District Chairman (right)

Long-term planning essential for sustainable WASH services

Planning is the WASH systems building block that involves budgeting and the determination of costs...
Afar

Costs and gaps in the financing of water services in the Ethiopia

The government's flagship Climate Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (CR-WASH) initiative...
Monitoring in Ghana

Cost effective ways to leave no-one behind

Join a 3-week RWSN e-discussion on the costs, financing and affordability of rural water supply and...
India - fetching water from river in Chatrapur block, Ganjam District, Odisha state

How is India's fiscal policy influencing water and sanitation

A new briefing note tracks the state budget allocations for WASH for Bihar and Odisha.
Cover of Water Special 2018 by ViceVersa

IRC contributions to the Water Special 2018 of ViceVersa

'Approaching the last mile' and 'Around the village pump', two articles in which IRC discusses the...
WASHTalk

Holding governments accountable for gaps in WASH finance

Empowering civil society with transparency tools to aid in the fight against lagging WASH budgets.
Public Finance for WASH home page

Public Finance for WASH: update

Public Finance for WASH has moved: we've changed our URL! We're now at www.publicfinanceforwash.org
Washing hands in Ethiopia

WASH Talk podcast on attracting commercial finance to the water sector

How do you finance water utilities when traditional sources of capital dry up?

Blogs, podcasts, opinions and more

Search and explore all 117 posts here

Silafrica's introduction of AIM plastic latrine slab manufacturing in Ethiopia

What it takes to build a sanitation market: USAID Transform WASH and the plastic toilet slab in Ethiopia

Introducing the plastic toilet slab to the Ethiopian market takes time, patience and tenacity as the USAID Transform WASH project experiences.
Citizens participating in district budget allocations for the sector, Bhola, Bangladesh

Financing improved water and sanitation services: whodunnit right?

Highlighting financial and technical collaborative successes.
Climate change threatens one of the world's largest mangrove forests, the Sundarbans in West Bengal, India

Message in a red bottle – sending out an SOS

Report of a WASH Debate on climate adaptation.
water user fee collection

Funding WASH Systems during COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented on all areas of peoples lives globally, on a scale barely imagined only a few months ago. From the ever...
Presenter in front of large screen with slide

Reflections from the 2020 Colorado WASH Symposium

Sharing, learning and collaborating at the University of Colorado annual WASH Symposium.
Cartoon of disabled person trying to wash hands but tap is too high (source:Mdogo)

How to avoid a 20-year setback in the water and sanitation sector

Smarter emergency measures against COVID-19 needed to ensure lasting solutions in service provision.
Warning message to pay your water bill

“Government, please pay your water bills!”

How to hold governments accountable for timely bill payments to water utilities.
Eng, Joseph Oriono Eyatu, Uganda, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Ghana, Patrick Moriarty

Money follows politics

What does government leadership in the African water and sanitation sector really mean? Perspectives from a technocrat, a politician and IRC's CEO.
People around a water point

Payment by Results: An end or a means to an end?

In recent years, donors have been making greater use of Payment by Results (PbR) approaches to fund development programmes.
Sanitation products promotion

Should sanitation be taxed?

The sanitation and hygiene challenge in Ethiopia is an important task, and daunting in scale.
These Funders Are Betting on a Systems Approach

These funders are betting on a systems approach

Water and sanitation comprise an increasingly important focus for global health and development philanthropy, but the approach has often been...
SIWI sofa 2019

World Water Week 2019 through the lens of IRC

Finding ways to build and finance strong WASH systems, including everyone along the way.
Harriet Burungu fetching water in Kabarole district

It's all about the blend

How a blending of service delivery models and finance within a district may hold the solution to financing safe water supplies for everyone.
Woman constructing latrine in Wazinet village, Eritrea

The good, the bad and the ugly of global WASH finance

What is needed to eliminate inequalities and achieve universal access to sanitation?
Dr Kurian Baby on saline inspection in India

Rethinking the SDG funding gap

The SDG financing gap will be history, when natural infrastructure (NI) enters the economics and financing computations.
All systems go! finance session

Mobilising finance for WASH: getting the foundations right

10 things IRC, Water.org and the World Bank think you need to know about the enabling environment for finance in WASH

Resources

Search and explore all 345 resources here

Decentralised public financing for WASH : current situation and needs during and beyond the...

2020
Perspectives from the union, state and local...

Civil society influence in drinking water, sanitation and water resources budgets : four pathways...

2020
How CSOs in Bangladesh, India, Kenya and...

Gicumbi District Full Life Cycle WASH Investment Plan - Draft

2020

Who pays for water? : comparing life cycle costs of water services among several low, medium and...

2020
Comparing water utilities in Kenya, Ethiopia,...

Women as business leaders

2020
This learning note is focused on the gender...

An assessment of sanitation financing options for enterprises and households

2020
A summary of a study undertaken of the financing...

Legitimacy and financial sustainability of CSO network organisations : lessons learned and...

2020
Lessons learned and relevance for global and...

Ethiopia’s business environment and how it influences WASH market development

2020
An enabling business environment and strong...

Rural water and sanitation budgets for schools, anganwadi and health centres : an assessment of ...

2020
An analysis of government interventions for...

Rural water and sanitation budgets for schools, anganwadi and health centres : an assessment of...

2020
An analysis of government or private...

Central and State Finance Commission grants to Panchaya Raj Institutions (PRIs) : implications...

2020
A call for devolution of power to local...

Tracking expenditure for water, sanitation and hygiene in communities and social sector...

2020
Key learnings for budget and financing...

Tracking budgets for rural WATSAN : an assessment of districts Ganjam and Nuapada in Odisha, India

2020
How does understanding public finance for WASH...

Tracking budgets for rural WATSAN : an assessment of districts Gaya and Samastipur in Bihar, India

2020
How does understanding public finance for WASH...

Costing and financing of small-scale water supply and sanitation services

2020
Guidelines for European national and subnational...

Costing and financing sustainable WASH services in Asutifi North District

2020
This costing and financing study report provides...

Videos

The Future of Village Water Supply: What is the Role of Community Management in the Transition?
Water Financing Facilities [animation]
Funding of water, sanitation and hygiene services in Ghana
The role of public finance for reaching scale and sustainable water and sanitation services
Financing post-construction support in Ghana
WASHCost - 20 minute feature film
WASHCost Ghana
What if...?
Cost-effectiveness of hygiene promotion
WASHCost Mozambique
Getting the finance right
WASHCost India pilot
The WASHCost Calculator
The life-cycle cost approach
Investing in India
Akatsi Water Board, Ghana seeks sustainable pricing