Publication: Output-Based Aid in Water : Lessons in Implementation from a Pilot in Paraguay
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2005-05
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2012-08-13
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Paraguay's aguateros-small private water companies- form an important part of the water sector, serving about 9 percent of the total population (or about 17 percent of those with piped water supply). But until recently they operated only in urban areas, where water resources are abundant, and they could choose customers, based on their ability to pay the full costs of providing service. A new Bank-funded initiative seeks to attract aguateros and construction firms active in the water sector to un-served rural areas and small towns, by providing an output-based aid subsidy, awarded through competitive bidding. The initiative is the first attempt anywhere to apply this approach to rural and small-town water sector investment. This Note reviews the early lessons.
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“Drees-Gross, Franz; Schwartz, Jordan; Sotomayor, Maria Angelica; Bakalian, Alexander. 2005. Output-Based Aid in Water : Lessons in Implementation from a Pilot in Paraguay. OBApproaches; Note No. 7. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11043 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Output-Based Aid in Water : Lessons in Implementation from a Pilot in Paraguay(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-04)Paraguay's aguateros-small private water companies-form an important part of the water sector, serving about 9 percent of the total population (or about 17 percent of those with piped water supply). But until recently they operated only in urban areas, where water resources are abundant and they could choose customers based on their ability to pay the full costs of providing service. A new World Bank-funded initiative seeks to attract aguateros and construction firms active in the water sector to unserved rural areas and small towns by providing an outputbased aid subsidy, awarded through competitive bidding. The initiative is the first attempt anywhere to apply this approach to rural and smalltown water sector investment. 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The WHO estimates that around 502 000 deaths a year in low and middle income countries from diarrheal disease are attributable to unsafe water, and that over 1 000 children under 5 die each day from diarrheal disease caused by inadequate WASH. UNWomen estimates that in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, women and girls spend 40 billion hours a year collecting water, the time valued at around $20 billion a year. Sustainable development goal no. 6 ‘ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ creates a framework for tackling the challenge of mobilizing the large investments required and making WaSH available at affordable prices. The purpose of the study on which this report is based is to analyze, capture and synthesize lessons learned from closed GPOBA water projects in order to evaluate the impact of the subsidy schemes and inform the scale-up and replication of OBA approaches. These lessons offer insight to successes and failures of project design and implementation as well as solutions to more complex projects and/or less tested environments.Publication Output-Based Aid in Cambodia : Private Operators and Local Communities Help Deliver Water to the Poor(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-11)After decades of war and social disruption in Cambodia, publicly run water, and sanitation services are scarce, and limited mainly to urban areas. While private providers offer relatively good service, their high one-time connection charges put that service out of reach for all, but the more affluent. The Government of Cambodia is piloting an output-based approach in four towns, where the private operator will be paid on the basis of performance - in large part, only after it has made a connection to a customer. Where connections are made to poor households deemed unable to pay, the operator will receive an International Development Association - IDA-funded subsidy.
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