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

By Gustavo Saltiel

Over the last two decades, countries around the world have achieved important improvements in their water and sanitation sector governance and utility performance – which has resulted in significant increases in the number of people provided with sustainable services.

In Brazil, strong national policies and sector plans resulted in an increase in sanitation services coverage from 73% to 87% and the consolidation of world class utilities. In Burkina Faso, the corporatization of the national utility (ONEA) and its contract plan with the government allowed it to provide improved water access for 2.5 million additional people. In Manila, the Philippines, improvements in the efficiency of the services provided by two private concessionaires increased access to water for more than two million additional people. The case of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) of Uganda is widely recognized as a successful utility turnaround story based on improving performance, increasing accountability and focusing on capacity building supported at the highest political levels. These examples and cases across regions demonstrate that through sector reforms, countries can ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all as stated by Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Photo courtesy of zhang kaiyv.