NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

As the world’s most populous region continues to grow, innovative solutions to on sanitation are more needed than even before in Asia, where many governments still don’t see this Millennium Development Goal as a priority.

To address this issue, the Asian Development Bank is now partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for programs to be implemented over the next few years in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The new partnership, announced on Monday, seeks to expand and speed up access to safe sanitation in Asia-Pacific by engaging both the public and the private sector and civil society leaders in efforts to advance innovative thinking and practice, Brian Arbogast, the foundation’s water, sanitation and hygiene team director, told Devex.

Arbogast added the Gates Foundation will invest will invest $15 million into a trust fund focusing on non-sewered sanitation expansions and septage management solutions, which will be complemented by a further $28 million investment from ADB up to 2017.