Select Committee on Public Accounts Thirtieth Report


1. Contributing to international targets whilst addressing country needs

Contributing to international targets

1. The Millennium Development Goals provide internationally agreed targets for addressing world poverty and set measurable indicators to assess progress. The targets in relation to water and sanitation are to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities.[2] During the 1990s, the international development community made progress towards both these targets. Access to safe drinking water increased from 77% to 82%, and access to sanitation increased from 51% to 61%.[3] But meeting these targets remains a huge task (Figure 1) and requires co-ordinated and concerted action from the international donor community as a whole. The Department's water-related activities represent a small part of the wider international effort to improve access to water and sanitation, and its involvement in the water sector has to be seen alongside that of other donors, national governments, the private sector and non-government organisations.[4]

Figure 1: Meeting the global water targets


Source: Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report

2. The Department seeks to achieve its aims by working at global, national and local levels and in partnership with a wide range of organisations, including other donors, governments in developing countries and non-government organisations. A diagrammatic illustration of the Department's role is shown in Figure 2. At the global level, the Department engages in broader 'influencing' activity with host nations, other donors, non-government organisations and other bodies in the water sector. Such an approach can help promote long-term policy reform and the adoption of good practice by partner governments.[5] The Department has focussed international attention on water and sanitation issues, has worked in partnership with international agencies active in the water sector, and played a leading role at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in the agreement on sanitation as one of the Millennium Development Goals.[6]

Figure 2: A diagrammatic illustration of DFID's role


Note 1. Includes a combination of funding and technical co-operation (the provision of personnel, training, research)

3. There are many bilateral and multilateral donors, and total development assistance in the water sector is estimated at £5.7 billion per annum.[7] Yet the Global Water Partnership has estimated that, in addition to current investment levels, up to a further US$30 billion per year is needed to achieve the water and sanitation targets set by the Millennium Development Goals.[8] Overseas development assistance represents between five and 10% of total water resources,[9] and the Department has sought to exploit opportunities to invest in the water sector and has developed partnerships with international agencies.[10] For example, the Department uses its influencing role to encourage partner governments to explore opportunities for attracting private sector investment[11] and adopt a more economic approach to providing water. For example, the Department has helped the Ghana Government organise a conference on private sector investment to enable lessons to be learnt from other parts of the world.[12] The Department has also worked with donors to develop new financing facilities to attract private financing of water infrastructure.[13]

4. The Department also contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through its funding to a range of multilateral bodies. In 2001-02 the Department provided funding of £1.3 billion to multilateral institutions, of which the largest recipient was the European Union, which received £761 million.[14] Multilateral bodies play a significant role in tackling global poverty, including initiatives in the water sector. The Committee raised concerns over the effectiveness of aid channelled through the European Union. The proportion of the Department's aid targeted on poor countries is 78% compared to a figure of 38% for European Union aid.[15] The Department has no direct control over the use of multilateral aid but has sought to encourage the European Union to adopt its philosophy that aid should be used primarily to tackle poverty needs of developing countries and that aid programmes should be based on assessments of poverty.[16] The Department's rationale is that aid works best when it is allocated to the poorest countries and, in particular, those poorest countries which are trying to reform.[17]

Addressing the poverty needs of poor countries

5. At the country level, the Department develops plans to determine the focus and nature of its aid programme. In producing country plans, the Department seeks to balance its high level objectives of contributing towards the Millennium Development Goals with the specific needs of individual countries.[18] The Department is increasingly seeking to support host governments in their implementation of national poverty reduction strategies, and thus align the focus of its support with the poverty priorities of partner countries.[19] The level of the Department's support in any sector within a country is also influenced by the extent of involvement of other donors. It does not operate in all sectors in all countries but assesses whether it has any specific knowledge or experience in the sector which would give a comparative advantage over other donors. It seeks to achieve an effective use of resources by focussing its assistance in sectors in which it judges it will have greatest impact.[20]

6. The Department has staff dedicated to managing its assistance in individual countries and it is the responsibility of these teams to propose where and how resources should be spent. The focus of the Department's assistance is based primarily on the country's own poverty priorities.[21] In countries, such as India and Uganda, where improving access to water has been prioritised by the government, the Department ensures that this is reflected in its country plan. Improving access to water and sanitation has been afforded a lower level of priority in some countries, including some which have the lowest levels of access to water.[22] In these countries, other poverty needs are given a higher priority; for example, humanitarian issues are paramount in conflict-affected countries such as Afghanistan and Ethiopia and, in others, the provision of healthcare and education facilities is considered to be a higher priority.[23]

7. The Department employs experts in individual sectors to determine the focus of its assistance in each country, to manage projects and liaise with key stakeholders. These experts draw upon their knowledge of the country circumstance to design aid programmes and projects that address local needs. But varying use has been made of detailed assessments of water need to determine where needs are greatest within countries and to identify opportunities for Departmental involvement. For example, in Uganda a country-level assessment of water needs was last carried out in 1998 and in Ghana, no assessment has been undertaken since 1995.[24] It is not always necessary for the Department to carry out such assessments themselves and reliance can be placed upon assessments carried out by other donors, non-government organisations or the host government.

8. The availability of relevant expertise in country teams is a key factor in ensuring that the Department's assistance is relevant to country needs. It is important in developing an understanding of the country's needs and forming a good working relationship with government officials.[25] The Department does not employ advisors from all disciplines in every country office. The advisory skill mix is adapted to reflect country priorities; for example, the Tanzania country office is shortly to get a statistical adviser as the generation of poverty data has become increasingly important. As water is a relatively low priority in many Departmental country programmes, there is not always a water or engineering adviser resident in country teams and, in such cases, it is more difficult to ensure that the water needs of that country are given due consideration in country planning.[26] The Department has expertise available at the centre which can be drawn on by country teams if there is a need to become involved in the water sector[27] but limited use was made of such expertise.[28]

9. One of the Department's key philosophies is to work as part of the wider international effort to support countries in achieving their poverty targets[29] as it recognises that a collective donor effort is more effective than isolated and uncoordinated donor contributions.[30] This requires a good understanding of the input of other bodies in the country and the Department seeks to work in partnership with key donors and non-government organisations. In some countries, such as South Africa, the host government co-ordinates donor contributions towards the country's water needs under a single plan. In Uganda, the Department is participating in the development of a joint sector-wide approach with other donors. But sector-wide approaches are not common in the water sector and in some countries there was scope for wider co-ordination between the bodies active in the sector.[31]

Making better use of research

10. The Department spends more than £100 million per annum on development-oriented research, of which some £3 million is on water-related research. The aim is to generate better knowledge to guide the Department and the wider development community in tackling development issues.[32] The Department uses a wide range of methods to disseminate research results but there is scope to improve uptake further and explore how the potential benefits can be realised.[33] The main reasons for a lack of uptake included low awareness of research amongst potential users; scepticism about the applicability of research; a lack of funding to assist in the adoption of research; and unclear lines of responsibility.[34]


2   C&AG's Report, para 2 Back

3   Q 3 Back

4   Q 6 Back

5   C&AG's Report, para 17 Back

6   C&AG's Report, para 17 Back

7   C&AG's Report, para 2.7 Back

8   ibid, para 3.5 Back

9   Q 29 Back

10   HC Deb, 28 January 2003, cols 38WS-40WS [Commons written statement] Back

11   Q 30 Back

12   Q 38 Back

13   HC Deb, 28 January 2003, cols 38WS-40WS [Commons written statement] Back

14   C&AG's Report, para 3.2 Back

15   Q 97 Back

16   Q 95 Back

17   Q 96 Back

18   C&AG's Report, para 15 Back

19   Q 12 Back

20   C&AG's Report, para 2.18 Back

21   Q 12 Back

22   Q 80 Back

23   Q 66 Back

24   C&AG's Report, para 2.19 Back

25   ibid, para 2.21 Back

26   ibid, para 2.21 Back

27   Q 13 Back

28   C&AG's Report, para 2.21 Back

29   ibid, para 2.22 Back

30   Q 80 Back

31   C&AG's Report, para 2.20 Back

32   C&AG's Report, para 18 Back

33   Q 56 Back

34   C&AG's Report, para 3.11 Back


 
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Prepared 3 July 2003