Progress needs to increase six-fold for safely managed drinking water, five-fold for safely managed sanitation, and three-fold for basic hygiene for the world to achieve universal access by 2030. This means the water, sanitation and hygiene sector requires considerable financing – around $116 - $229 billion annually.
Underscoring the need to accelerate progress rapidly are the increasing risks due to climate change. In Latin America, climate change already affects water and sanitation access for people through devastating weather events, including mega-droughts, extreme rainfall, heat waves, storms and glacier melt. These events can wipe out infrastructure and cause too much, too little, or increasingly polluted water. They can also fuel public health emergencies, food shortages and environmental devastation. More people are experiencing crises, specifically the populations least responsible for climate change. Yet, globally, progress in climate adaptation is slowing rather than accelerating.
In April, I have the opportunity to represent civil society at the Latin America and the Caribbean Finance Ministers’ Meeting, co-convened by the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership and UNICEF and hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank. This is an unparalleled opportunity to place water, sanitation, hygiene, and climate resilience at the center of discussions with important government decision-makers. At the same time, it will prove that this is a topic not only for sector stakeholders but also for several strategic government areas, such as public finance.
With the billions of dollars needed to accelerate progress toward water, sanitation and hygiene access, we must incorporate finance into discussions and planning. However, talking about financing does not just mean more money. It’s about utilizing existing resources in more equitable, sustainable, and resilient ways. As I prepare for the Latin America and the Caribbean Finance Ministers’ Meeting, here are three priorities as we consider financing for water, sanitation and hygiene.
- Financing must be inclusive and eliminate inequities. In Latin America, the access gap to safely managed drinking water between urban and rural is 27% – the second-largest behind Sub-Saharan Africa (37%). Financing for water, sanitation and hygiene must address the needs and close the gap for marginalized population segments, such as those living in rural areas.
For many years, Water For People has worked to close the rural water, sanitation and hygiene gap in each municipality where we work through a full coverage approach, ensuring water and sanitation for everyone. We have proven it’s possible. But inequity also exists within water, sanitation and hygiene. When we talk about access gaps, rural sanitation has been left behind in municipal and national financing agendas. UN-Water's 2022 GLAAS report points out that while 45% of countries are on track to meet their national water targets, only 25% are on track to meet their national sanitation targets.
- Finance strategies that focus solely on infrastructure are no longer sufficient and are not the most effective method for minimizing risks involved with long-term operation and maintenance.
Financing is necessary in other areas: capacity building of local and national institutions, and service providers - especially rural ones - to operate and maintain water and sanitation services. Above all, in this context of accelerating climate change, investment is needed in more resilient infrastructure, more adaptable service delivery models and better water resources management strategies that ensure the quality and availability of water now and in the future. Finally, monitoring service levels, a very important aspect of our municipal intervention model, is a tool that we have proven indispensable for planning, budgeting and decision-making processes.
The 2022 GLAAS report confirms this, indicating that more than 80% of all countries have an insufficient supply of trained personnel and professional experts who graduate annually from sector training and who could meet the needs for on-site sanitation service and small drinking water system management. Furthermore, while elements such as a strong sector monitoring system can help decision-making on prioritizing financing, a third of all countries use no data for most of their decision-making on planning processes and resource allocation.
- Finance strategies should be climate resilient.
Even if financial strategies close water, sanitation and hygiene access gaps equitably and invest in the sustainability of services, the current climate context makes it essential for such strategies to include climate adaptation among their top priorities in order to minimize the risks to infrastructure and services. In addition, countries must invest in the creation of a comprehensive water, sanitation and hygiene system that is climate-responsive and can foresee, prepare for and respond to these impacts. More financing must be allocated for water resource conservation and management strategies. Without such financing, no existing water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure or service structure will be able to function. This means no one will have water.
I believe this work must begin by strengthening institutional arrangements and articulating the critical links between water, sanitation and hygiene, the environment and finance institutions, in addition to civil society. Climate adaptation is a cross-cutting issue. This requires the inclusion of water, sanitation and hygiene in climate change policies and plans and vice versa, according to the climate risks identified in each country. This can unlock more climate finance for better adaptation of water, sanitation and hygiene services in the region.
Water for People is ready to collaborate with sector and finance ministers, strategic allies and with other related sectors. Furthermore, we consider it very important to share a common agenda as a sector in each country, which allows us to move in the same direction and create synergies of our capabilities and experiences to make the most efficient use of the limited resources we have.
Let us be the first generation in Latin America and the Caribbean with universal and sustainable access to water and sanitation, so that we can show the world that UN Sustainable Goal 6 is possible for everyone, everywhere.
Photo © UNICEF 2020