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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

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Introducing the WASH Systems Academy

Become a WASH Systems master.
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?
WASHCost course

Costing Sustainable Services online course 2018 open for registration

Join for free! Courses start Thursday 1st of March, Friday 1st of June and Monday 1st of October.
water metre

Finding innovative ways to finance capital maintenance of piped systems in Ghana

Study seeks solutions for sustainable small-town water service delivery.
Community in Cambodia

A viable future for safe water businesses

Accessibility, affordability, and availability of technology options are crucial for the survival...
Water kiosk in Odisha, India

WASH Talk podcast on blended finance

How can blended finance help in meeting the financing gap for reaching SDG 6?
Advocacy session in SWWW

Demonstrating donor belief in advocacy

Going for long-term results requires persistence and courage.
Hon. Joseph Koffie Adda. Min for Sanitation and water resources Ghana

Ghana’s new Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources says making Accra the cleanest city is doable

The Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda unfolds his ambitious goals at Stockholm World Water Week.
Ganjam district

Advocating for sustainable WASH Finance: collecting evidence in India

Exploring budget allocations and expenditure by national, state and district authorities for Odisha...
Junior Engineer in charge of village water supplies in SAS Nagar District, Punjab. Photo: Stef Smits/IRC

Not every village is lucky enough to have a Mr Singh

New book reveals how India made community water management work even without charismatic leaders.
Water tower and drums in Tamale

WASH Talk podcast on asset management

Asset management is critical for all WASH systems as 30% of the infrastructure is often not working.
IRC's Catarina Fonseca leads a discussion about integrity in water

Bridging the financing gap for sustainable water: can integrity help?

At the first Water Integrity Forum for East Africa, IRC hosted a session on bridging the financing...
Defining and organising cost components

Join our ‘Costing Sustainable Services’ e-course in June 2017!

You can sign up for the free life-cycle cost approach e-course starting on 1st of June now.

Blogs, podcasts, opinions and more

Search and explore all 101 posts here

Lukas Kwezi at the IRC symposium

WASH systems strengthening: old wine in new bottles?

An account of personal reflections on the shift to a systems approach.
Pass notes financing WASH

IRC Pass notes: Financing WASH #notjust4nerds

Is this about that 10euros I owe you? No. It's about the critical importance of finance as a building block within the systems approach
Market in Burkina Faso

Three for the price of two, 30% off, special offer

The importance of capital efficiency.
Participants at IRC-NWP WASH Debate on blended finance, 4 December 2018

Blended finance: is it all in a mix?

De-risking investments by building capacities and subsidising interest. Report of an IRC-NWP WASH Debate.
Image credit: Toilet Board Coalition

Making the chain more fluid with sustainable sanitation financing

Inspired by World Water Week 2018 we talked with Cheryl Hicks of the Toilet Board Coalition about attracting alternative finance into the sanitation...
Water.org uses grant funds to mobilise micro-finance institutions with their Water Credit programme

Blended finance beyond the hype

This Conference Perspective was co-authored by Patrick Moriarty for the OECD – GIZ Conference: Closing the gap for water in line with SDG ambitions:...
Bucket tomparnell flickr

Financing the sector in challenging countries

Fixing the leaks to attract commercial investment for sustainable urban water services in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Chinese money tree Flickr, bit.ly2MIUxtM, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Looking for WASH’s magic money tree

Private money can only be attracted where government leads and strong systems exist.
IRC Perspective Part I

Stockholm World Water Week through the lens of IRC: Part I

IRC perspectives: reflecting on day 1 and 2 of the Stockholm World Water Week 2018
Fetching water at the pump

When does money get results?

This blog looks at the experience of using 'Payment-by-Results' in Tanzania's water sector, and how adaptive programming is key to bridging the gap.
costs and finance over time

Weekly WASH graph: visualising WASH investment plans in Rwanda

This week's Weekly WASH Graph presents an infographic and a graph, the combination of which reflects what we think should be the core content of WASH...
Cost projection Marcala

Weekly WASH graph: and the magic number of reaching 'everyone, forever' is...

As countries, regions and municipalities are making plans to reach universal access to WASH services, a frequently heard question is how much does it...
GDP vs access

Weekly WASH graph: beating the curve

This is the first of my 'weekly WASH graphs', exploring the relation between the wealth of a country over time, and its level of access to at least...
"Costeo de los servicios de agua y saneamiento" Workshop

Moving “en derechura” with the costing of water and sanitation services in Honduras

"You are doing well—keep on going 'en derechura'", said a community member of about 70 years old, when we wanted to confirm if we were on the right...
"Sanitation is more important than independence" - Gandhiji

Can India afford to spend less on rural sanitation?

Budget cuts could prevent the country becoming open defecation free by 2019.
AIWW_NWP image

Bridging the gap between impact investing and the WASH sector

How can impact investment address the multi-million dollar financing gap in the water sector?

Resources

Search and explore all 310 resources here

Addressing the financing gap - podcast

2019

Why is finance the unavoidable building block? - podcast

2019

Collecting life-cycle cost data for WASH services : a guide for practitioners

2019

Mobile phone prepayment for household water connections in Ghana

2019
Though mobile money penetration is high (72%),...

Mobilising finance for WASH : getting the foundations right

2019
This working paper unpacks what is meant by the...

Conditions for private sector involvement and financing in rural water supply

2019
An introduction to the UDUMA model based on long-...

Using evidence on life cycle costs to plan for achieving the SDGs in Amhara, Ethiopia

2019
Using the life-cycle cost approach (LCCA) this...

Blended finance for beginners : a simplified framework

2018
This presentation provides a simplified...

Public finance and accountability with Carlene van der Westhuizen & Catarina Fonseca

2018
Empowering civil society with transparency tools...

Public finance for water infrastructure development and its practical challenges for small towns

2018
Existing models used for financing water...

Finance for water utilities

2018
This podcast discusses how to finance water...

Lack of financial vision for the water sector

2018
An interview with IRC's Head International...

A checklist for effective adoption and implementation of the pay-as-you-fetch model.

2017

Financing for improved sanitation : case study from SNNPR, Ethiopia

2017
Lessons learned and a framework for understanding...

Innovative financing for capital maintenance expenditure in small towns water systems in three...

2017
Innovative mechanisms for the financing of...

Financing practices and options for sanitation products and services : findings from SNNPR, Ethiopia

2017
The scope and potential role of financial...

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