A Micro Financing Framework for Rural Water and Sanitation provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa
| dc.contributor.author | Mengueze, Sandrine | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mbuvi, Dorcas | |
| dc.contributor.author | Dickin, Sarah | |
| dc.contributor.author | Schuster Wallace, Corinne | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-07-21T17:24:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-07-21T17:24:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014 | |
| dc.description | Mengueze, S., Mbuvi, D, Dickin, S. & Schuster-Wallace, C. (2014). A Micro Financing Framework for Rural Water and Sanitation provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa. United Nations University. https://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:2657#viewAttachments CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO | |
| dc.description.abstract | Across rural regions in particular, inadequate access to water supply and sanitation (WSS) services negatively affects women more than men. Women and girls are twice as likely as men (and boys) to bear the burden of water collection that requires walking long distances in search of improved sources. Collecting and carrying large amounts of water is physically demanding and limits time available to pursue educational, professional and leisure activities. Indeed, women lose about forty billion hours each year in daily water collection in SSA - time that could be redirected towards other socio-economic and productive activities. Moreover, women and girls risk physical and sexual assualt when collecting water or trying to find a dignified location to relieve themselves. Given the need for sustainable access to WSS in rural Sub Saharan Africa for improved quality of life, universal access becomes a moral and practical imperative. Water is necessary for health, food production, economic activities and environmental integrity. In order to attain national water supply and sanitation (WSS) Millennium Development Goal targets by 2015, developing country governments need to advance their rural WSS services coverage. In Sub Saharan Africa in particular, scaling up functional, quality, reliable and affordable WSS facilities among rural populations is a significant impediment. Moreover, in most cases rural households find it difficult to raise up-front capital that is often required for the construction of facilities. Self-sustaining micro financed facilities can be realized for equitable and safe rural WSS provision. A systematic model through which sustainable rural WSS-related micro financing can be attained is currently lacking. Self-supply, while contested with respect to issues of responsibility, is a feasible option given that there is money to be made in service delivery and the fact that many rural families pay considerably more for their drinking water through informal water providers, without any guarantee of quality. This does not have to undermine government responsibility for provision; rather accelerate the scale up and out of rural access and put community-based mechanisms in place for sustainable interventions that can be incorporated into national WSS strategies as they become established. Moreover, it overcomes the primary challenge in self-supply – that of up front funds for infrastructure. Given that key principles of successful microfinance (including shared solidarity and mutual accountability, access to capital, capacity development and ownership) are similar to and supportive of the principles of sustainable WSS interventions (community engagement and ownership, capacity development, financial accountability), it makes sense to explore this as a mechanism for self-supply in rural settings in order to increase access in a timely manner. A co-operative microfinance framework would potentially share the financial and social costs and benefits between communities and governments. Many of the benefits that accrue through WSS access are realized by the community (through increased health, school attendance and time savings) and the government (through reduction in requirements for other services, such as healthcare, and improved productivity that supports national growth). The framework demands active and coordinated government support through specific related ministries (water and sanitation, health, finance, rural development, public works, etc.). It relies on continued village demand for improved WSS facilities and willingness to effectively engage in the revolving RoSCA schemes. Additionally, it is founded on clear division of responsibilities among four main stakeholders for the transparent and accountable operationalization of interventions. The revenue generated, in addition to paying for the operation and maintenance of the system(s) can be used to acquire or expand additional basic household services. As a result, co-operative members are able to engage in other water and non-water related entrepreneurial activities, to add on to the WSS-fund and strengthen the local economy more generally. However, the framework is flexible and not limited to WSS provisioning. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Mengueze, S., Mbuvi, D,Dickin, S., Schuster-Wallace C. (2014). A Micro Financing Framework for Rural Water and Sanitation provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa. United Nations University. https://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:2657#viewAttachments | |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 978-92-808-6041-2 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/15847 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | UNU-INWEH | |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/ | |
| dc.subject | Water-health nexus | |
| dc.title | A Micro Financing Framework for Rural Water and Sanitation provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| dc.type | Technical Report |