Financing helps increase access to safe water and sanitation for people living in poverty. Here's the evidence.

Our evidence, research and data supports the use of financing to achieve universal access to safe water and sanitation. We are committed to sharing what we’ve learned, so we can all see a day where everyone, everywhere has access to safe water and a toilet.

Other helpful resources:

Document Type: Learning brief

Date: Feb. 4, 2019

WaterCredit: Catalyzing access to safe drinking water and sanitation in Bangladesh

This is an evaluation of a multiyear program in Bangladesh.

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Document Type: Position paper

Date: April 19, 2017

Financing WASH: How to increase funds for the sector while reducing inequities

This position paper addresses three key issues that receive limited attention in the WASH sector discussions on finance:

  1. Lack of finance for strengthening the enabling environment
  2. Untapped use of micro and blended finance
  3. Inequities in allocation of finance in the sector
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Document Type: Executive summary

Countries: India

Date: Oct. 31, 2016

​Water and sanitation microfinance operations in India: An assessment of challenges and determinants of success

Findings from the Evaluation of the 2011-2015 Pepsi program in India.

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Document Type: Report

Countries: India

Date: July 5, 2021

Solving a global challenge from the bottom up: Water and sanitation microlending

Report outlining the need for WSS finance in India.

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Document Type: Report

Countries: Bangladesh

Date: Feb. 1, 2021

Engaging banks and financial institutions in Bangladesh for developing WaterCredit products

Business case study to highlight the business impacts of WaterCredit on Bangladesh’s banks, microfinance institutions and cooperatives, and informal financiers.

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Document Type: Learning brief

Countries: India

Date: Oct. 1, 2020

Improving access to safe water and sanitation through collaborative efforts and policy-level change

Details of the most significant outcomes related to Water.org’s system level impact work. A key objective was to assess the systems-level influence and impact of its efforts to create an enabling ecosystem for WSS financing that would make WSS capital more affordable and accessible.

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Document Type: Learning brief

Date: Aug. 12, 2020

Increasing resiliency in the face of climate change: How WSS systems and financing can adapt to meet the challenge

This two-pager highlights the global water risks, inequitable impacts, how transforming WSS systems can mitigate climate change, and how to finance climate-smart solutions.

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Document Type: Report

Date: April 13, 2022

Meta study of existing WSS Research: Thematic paper on WaterCredit as an accelerator

The WaterCredit as an Accelerator component of this meta-study investigated the extent of the internal and external evidence base to test if WaterCredit-financed WSS improvements lead to: sustainable WSS loan portfolios, improved access to WSS, and more sustainable access to improved WSS.

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Document Type: Report

Countries: India

Date: Aug. 1, 2016

Income enabling, not consumptive: Association of household socio-economic conditions with safe water and sanitation

This article challenges the assumption that WASH lending is consumptive by highlighting the financial gains people are able to derive to some extent from having water and/or sanitation infrastructure at home by analyzing data on the reallocation of time by WaterCredit borrowers in India.

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Document Type: Report

Date: April 13, 2022

Meta study of existing WSS Research: Thematic paper on household finances

The household finances component of this meta-study investigated the extent of the internal and external evidence base for whether improved water supply and sanitation breaks the cycle of poverty for households living in poverty and increases economic value.

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