International Development CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by WaterAid

1. Summary

1.1 WaterAid is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific region. We work to improve communities’ quality of life by making lasting improvements to water and sanitation services and hygiene practices (WASH) using local skills and practical, sustainable technologies. We believe that WASH is an essential prerequisite for progress towards other development areas, including health, education, gender discrimination and the economic growth and environmental sectors.

1.2 WaterAid is a member of the BOND and UKAN networks and endorses the joint submission provided by those networks on the DFID Annual Report and Accounts 2011–12. This note is in addition to that, focussing on the perspectives of the WASH sector.

1.3 The Annual Review notes that since the results commitments were set, DFID has set a new ambition and is committed to reaching more people with water and/or sanitation and/or hygiene promotion. DFID has calculated that at least 30 million people will receive water and/or sanitation and/or improved hygiene. The Secretary of State’s announcement at the Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting in Washington in April set out a new ambition to double this, and reach at least 60 million people.

1.4 Results for this new commitment will be achieved through both bilateral and multilateral results, whilst the current targets are for bilateral aid only. DFID will report on these new targets in future Annual Reports. This note reflects on progress towards the original targets set, as well as noting some considerations to ensure DFID’s new ambition on WASH is implemented effectively.

1.5 Recommendations

1.5.1Increase WASH spending in recognition of its impact on development and to reflect DFID’s stated commitment to double results on WASH;

1.5.2Decrease the reliance on giving core funds to multilateral donors, particularly those who provide ODA as loans;

1.5.3Increase and use operational research to ensure that interventions with maximum impact are scaled up;

1.5.4Increase support for integrated approaches, particularly those that bring together WASH and health programmes;

1.5.5Lead the world in helping to build sustainable WASH sectors, and demonstrate this by monitoring and reporting long term results. This will ensure that more sustainable interventions are recognised to produce better results, higher value for money, and are scaled up accordingly. A simplistic approach to measuring results will undermine DFID’s aim for sustainability and innovation; and

1.5.6Increase the number of DFID specialist WASH advisors and governance advisors working to support WASH sector governance.

2. Trends in DFID’s Expenditure and Total UK ODA

2.1 WaterAid welcomes DFID’s commitment to double the number of people reached with WASH, and the fact that WASH spend is trending upwards. However, we are concerned that WASH currently receives the lowest proportion of DFID’s sector allocated funds. Please refer to figure 11 in the annual report.

2.2 We would like to see how the decision to double WASH results has been and will be reflected in DFID’s WASH budget. DFID’s report refers to “sustainable safe water and sanitation”. We would expect this to signify long-term funding commitments to service delivery, as well as commitments to building sector capacity in the developing. This would require a significant increase in DFID bilateral funding.

2.3 DFID delivered 44% of its WASH bilateral aid in 2011–12 through multilateral organisations, including the World Bank. WaterAid’s research raises serious questions about the pro-poor targeting of the multilateral lenders. A WaterAid investigation found that the World Bank’s key performance indicators give prominence to achieving financial viability for client utilities and improvements in technical performance, but little comparable attention given to pro-poor targeting objectives.¹ In several cases the results achieved through multilateral spending on WASH are unclear.²

2.4 DFID funding provided to multilateral lenders as grants is often passed on as a cheap loan and can finally be re-lent at commercial loan rates. We would question whether this is an effective use of ODA. WaterAid believes that the hiking of interest on international development loans skews the incentives of the receiving governments so that they target wealthier communities, rather than reaching the poor and unserved communities.

3. DFID’s Ability to Spend the Large Increase in its 2013–14 Budget Efficiently and Effectively

3.1 WaterAid believes that in keeping with the UK’s leadership on developing a genuinely development focused ODA programme, the scaling up of existing WASH programmes should be through the targeting of those countries where the burden of inadequate WASH is the greatest. And to ensure that these investments lead to sustainable and pro-poor outcomes, increasing investments must underpin system strengthening in order to build capacity to absorb, target and spend aid effectively. Such an increase will need to be accompanied by increasing the number of advisors dedicated to WASH in order to maximise the impact and value for money of WASH sector support.

3.2 Support the Sanitation and Water for All initiative, in particular with financial support to least developed countries to implement the National Planning for Results Initiative mechanism and build accountable and sustainable WASH sectors.

4. How DFID uses the Research it Funds to Inform Policy

4.1 The recent Water and Sanitation Portfolio Review³ was a good example of DFID using research to inform the adjustment of resource allocation to better reflect the burden of disease and levels of need in developing countries, resulting in the decision to double its ambition on WASH.

4.2 However, scaled up investment in WASH needs to be supported by operational research to ensure that the potential impact of WASH ODA can be realised.

5. DFID’s Results Framework, including the Choice of Indicators in its Annual Report and the Reporting of Progress

5.1 DFID should include specific sustainability indicators in its reports, and ensure that their WASH funding includes long-term post implementation capacity development support initiatives, including funds to monitor the sustainability of the WASH investments.

5.2 Given the impact to access to adequate and safe WASH services disproportionately affects women and girls, WaterAid supports the sex disaggregation of bilateral results achievements, but we are concerned that WASH is not included in this breakdown.

6. Whether Current Staffing Levels are Adequate

6.2 We are concerned that a lack of sector specialists, particularly in the WASH sector, will undermine DFID’s ability to identify and support programmes with the most transformative potential or achievements.

6.3 A wide range of sector specialists working together is necessary to avoid a highly segmented and inefficient aid programme. Cross-sector coordination and integrated programme design are essential in order to efficiently achieve the potential impact of WASH sector development for health, education and governance, and in order to monitor that impact.

References

1. WaterAid, Are World Bank Investments Benefiting The Urban Poor?, 2012

2. DFID, WASH Portfolio Review,

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/DFID%20WASH%20Portfolio%20Review.pdf

3. DFID, WASH Portfolio Review,
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/DFID%20WASH%20Portfolio%20Review.pdf

4. Figure 11 of Annual Report.

5. Pneumonia and Diarrhoea are the leading disease causes of infant mortality, (CHERG, 2012) and UN HDR 2006 attributes 88% of Diarrhoea to lack of WASH. For the Inter-relationship of diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition, see Schlaudecker, E P, Steinhoff, M C, Moore, S R. 2011. Interactions of diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malnutrition in childhood: recent evidence is from developing countries. Current Opinion in Infectious disease, 24 (5): 496–502.

6. Including Neglected Tropical Diseases—14 of 19 NTDs are WASH related—see
http://www.wateraid.org/documents/wash_the_silent_weapon_against_ntds.pdf

7. Hutton—Global Costs and Benefits of Water and Sanitation 2012.

8. Evidence to IDC review on aid to Malawi:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmintdev/writev/malawi/mal26x.htm

9. DFID, WASH portfolio review.

November 2012