MPFD POLICY BRIEFSNo. 96, April 2019

Universal access to safe water and - how much would it cost

The 2030 Agenda encompasses a broad scope of ambition for Financing requirements for universal access clean water and sanitation. Sustainable Development Goal 6 – clean water and sanitation, goes beyond the call for universal to water supply and sanitation access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation, Prior to the adoption of the SDGs, studies have estimated the and ending open to include increasing water-use annual costs of halving the proportion of population without efficiency, as as water resource management access to safe drinking water and sanitation to be between to help conserve water-related ecosystems. Access to safe from $1.8 to $136.5 billion. (Hutton and Haller, 2004; Hutton and water and sanitation for all is an essential requirement for others, 2007; and Hutton and Bartram, 2008a, 2008b). A WHO attaining health targets (SDG 3) and reducing deaths attributed (2012) study estimated that $145 billion is needed during 2010- to unsafe water, sanitation and . Under SDG 9, water 2015 to achieve such target, while universal coverage would and sanitation are basic infrastructures that support well-being require additional investment of $390 billion. East Asia had the and economic development. highest financing requirements for drinking water and sanitation combined, needing an estimated $120 million. Universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene promotes economic, social and environmental well-being. In developing The 2030 Agenda targets and indicators have a broader scope countries, kills as many as 2 million people each year, than the Millennium Development Goals. SDG 6 covers quality, mostly children.1 Access to safe drinking water contributes to accessibility and availability. “Improved” access to water means positive educational outcomes and worker productivity. It also a water source within a 30-minute round-trip while a “safely promotes gender equality (SDG 5) by making it unnecessary managed” level of service implies a higher expectation and would for rural females in the poorest Asian countries to walk long require upgrading of water source infrastructure to be within distances to fetch household water or for sanitation needs. the premises. Likewise, SDG 6 targets on sanitation include Poor sanitation and inadequate water supply are estimated to the impact of discharge and treatment on the environment and cause economic losses of between 0.7 and 4.3 percent of GDP . in developing countries and 1.5 percent of global GDP (Hutton, 2012). Moreover, water is an important productive resource for In estimating the cost of attaining universal access to clean agriculture, fishery, industries, transportation and recreation. water and sanitation under the SDGs,4 Hutton and Varughese As population and industries continue to grow, demand for (2016) finds that $114 billion is needed to achieve these targets water increases. At the same time, climate change impacts for 140 low- and middle-income countries. in the form of droughts and flooding can affect food security and aggravate hunger and (SDG 2). Improved management of water can thus contribute to better production Investment needs in Asia-Pacific of food and energy and enhance economic growth. A dollar invested in waster supply, sanitation and hygiene has returns This study adopts the ESCAP (2017) methodology to estimate of $9 (Hutton, 2015). investment needs for universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030.5 The following indicators were selected to capture the level of access: the percentage of urban and Where Asia and the Pacific stands rural populations with access to improved water sources; and the percentage of urban and rural populations with access Between 1990 and 2015, access to sanitation facilities to facilities. To allow for county-specific increased from less than 50 to 76 per cent, yet 519 million pathways, the analysis in this chapter offers two technology people still lack access to such facilities.2 While 25 per cent options with “high” and “low” cost requirements: the low-cost of the population in East Asia and the Pacific have improved scenario refers to the “basic” level of service where an improved access water– higher compared to other regions, 130 million water source is within a 30-minute round-trip,6 while the high- people in the region still lack access to improved water supply cost scenario refers to the “safely managed” level of service (UNICEF, 2015)The proportion of people in the Pacific islands where water and sanitation infrastructure is within the premises, with access to water is still below the rest of Asia as a result readily accessible and free from contamination.7 of , population growth, changing land-use and climate change impacts.3 The cost to achieve a higher level of water and sanitation infrastructure is almost double that of achieving the basic level of services. It is estimated that developing countries in the Asia- Pacific region will require an additional $14 billion annually to provide universal access to water and sanitation facilities by

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 1 2030. The total investment needs are between $43 billion and 6. Tube for water access in both rural and urban areas; for sanitation, wet pit $79 billion (0.1 - 0.2 per cent of GDP). By including the climate for rural areas and latrine with for urban areas. change component, total investment needs increase from $59 7. Piped-on-plot water access for both rural and urban areas; for sanitation, pit billion to $106 billion per year. Countries with special needs and latrine with and treatment for sanitation in rural areas, and sewerage South and South-West Asia have higher investment needs - up and treatment in urban areas. to 0.4 per cent higher relative to their GDP. The provision of 8. Estimates correspond to the average of the low- and high-cost scenarios. access to improved sanitation facilities accounts for 56 per cent of the total financing needs for the water and sanitation sector, against 44 per cent for access to water-related infrastructure.8 References Overall, the split in investment needs between water and Hutton, G. and L. Haller (2004). Evaluation of the non-health costs and benefits sanitation is fairly balanced across all country groups. of water and sanitation improvements at global level, World Health Organization. WHO/SDE/WSH/04.04.

Policy and financing options Hurton, G., Haller, L., and Bartram, J. (2007). Global cost-benefit analysis of water supply and sanitation interventions. Journal of Water and Health, 5(4):481- For policy and financing considerations, it is important to make 502. distinctions between water and sanitation services as well Hutton, G. and Bartram, J. (2008a). Regional and global costs of attaining the as rural and urban settings. Within urban settings, improving water supply and sanitation target (Target 10) of the Millennium Development management of billing, fee collection, fixing leakage and making Goals. Report WHO/HSE/AMR/08/01. Geneva: World Health Organization. routine maintenance can help improve efficiency of funds and Hutton, G., Bartram J. (2008b). Global costs of attaining the Millennium the reliability of water supply services (World Bank and UNICEF, Development Goal for water supply and sanitation. Bulletin of the World Health 2017). Within rural settings, lack of community ownership and Organization, 86:13-19. lack of incentives for households to invest in sanitation are some examples of why water and sanitation targets are not reached. Hutton, Guy (2012). Global Costs and Benefits of Drinking-water Supply and Sanitation Interventions to Reach the MDG Target and Universal Coverage. Geneva: World Health Raising awareness on the risks to health posed by open defecation and investing in behaviour change related to hygienic Hutton, Guy, and Mili Varughese (2016). The costs of meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal targets on drinking water, sanitation, and practices have proven to be more effective than subsidies in hygiene. Technical Paper, No. 103171. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Water incentivizing households to invest in (World Bank and and Sanitation Program. Available at www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/ UNICEF, 2017). Making latrines cheaper or providing “ publications/misr2018.aspx. loans”, such as in India, have also raised household demand ESCAP (2017). Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Development Report for latrines. 2017: Investing in Infrastructure for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future. Sales No. E.17.II.F.9. Available at www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/publications/ Unlike other sectors, such as telecommunications where Final%20%28CSN%29%206%20June.pdf. access can be funded through user fees, water and sanitation UNICEF (2015). A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2015 in urban and rural settings requires different considerations. In Regional Analysis and Update. Bangkok: UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific the urban setting, service provider tariffs can play a larger role Regional Office while in rural settings, more investments may be needed by the World Bank, and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2017). Sanitation public sector in transitioning to piped systems. Furthermore, and water for all: How can the financing gap be filled? Paper submitted to support financing capital versus operational expenditures can often be the Sanitation and Water for All Finance Ministers Meeting Preparatory Process. from different sources, while households also have a large role Washington, D.C. Available at sanitationandwaterforall.org/wp-content/ uploads/download-manager-files/SWA%20Country_Preparatory%20Process_ to play in self-provision or self-investments. Discussion_Paper%208_Mar_17.pdf.

WHO (2012). Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation Endnotes interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage. Geneva: World Health Organization. 1. United Nations SDG. Available at www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ accessed January 2019.

2. UNICEF, Water and sanitation. Available at www..org/activities_3578. html accessed January 2019.

3. Ibid.

4. Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all; and Target 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations

5. For more details on methodology and results, please see online technical appendix. Add link to online technical appendix.

. The MPFD Policy Briefs aim at generating a forward-looking discussion among policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders to help forge political will and build a regional consensus on needed policy actions and pressing reforms. Policy Briefs are issued without formal editing. This issue was prepared by Kiatkanid Pongpanich. It benefited from modeling inputs and comments from Candice Branchoux; overall comments and suggestions from Jun Fan and Evariste Kouassi-Komlan (The United Nations Children's Fund); Daniel Jeongdae Lee, Sweta Saxena, Mahesh Uniyal (Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division, ESCAP). For further information on this issue, please contact Hamza Ali Malik, Director, Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division, ESCAP ([email protected]).

www.unescap.org

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