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: Report

Date: April 13, 2022

Meta study of existing WSS Research: Thematic paper on health and safety

The health and safety component of this meta-study investigated the extent of the internal and external evidence base to test if WaterCredit-financed WSS improvements lead to: direct health benefits for households, direct safety benefits for households, and reduced stress and increased wellbeing.

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Document Type: Report

Date: April 13, 2022

Meta study of existing WSS research: Thematic paper on climate change

The climate change component of this meta-study focused on the extent of the internal and external evidence base to test if WaterCredit- financed WSS improvements: are more resilient to climate-related shocks and stresses, and contribute to healthier environments and reduce climatic changes.

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Document Type: Learning brief

Countries: India

Date: Jan. 15, 2022

Water.org in India: Learning brief on systems change

An evaluation of Water.org’s activities in India finds that it was a credible knowledge partner advocating for repayable water supply and sanitation (WSS) finance to help overcome the challenges inherent in massive flagship programs and accelerate access to water and sanitation

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Document Type: Learning brief

Date: Jan. 15, 2022

​Changing systems to unlock water and sanitation financing: Water.org in India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia

Evaluations of Water.org’s activities in India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia provide a snapshot of its global impact and demonstrate how systems strengthening can deliver better and quicker access to water and sanitation.

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Document Type: Learning brief

Date: Nov. 1, 2015

​Financing water and sanitation for the poor: The role of microfinance institutions in addressing the water and sanitation gap

This learning brief was developed in collaboration with the World Bank Group's Water and Sanitation Program.

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Document Type: White paper

Date: March 21, 2019

Mobilising finance for WASH: Getting the foundation right (academic journal version)

This paper unpacks what is meant by the enabling environment for finance in WASH and presents real examples of how these bottlenecks are being overcome by innovators in the sector. (Academic Journal version- Water, a journal from MDPI)

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Document Type: White paper

Countries: India

Date: June 1, 2018

Creating access to credit for water and sanitation improvements: A case study of women’s self-help groups in Tiruchirappalli, India

This paper looks at the development of a water and sanitation loan fund deployed through a network of women’s self-help groups in Southern India. Results from this case study indicate that micro-finance principles can be successfully applied to the water and sanitation sector.

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Document Type: Executive summary

Countries: India

Date: March 1, 2019

Endline evaluation of WaterCredit project: Increasing health, dignity & opportunities with access to safe water and sanitation in India (executive summary)

An assessment of program in India. The assessment drew on two household surveys (baseline and endline), focus group discussions, key informant interviews, loan data and program documentation.

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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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