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TitleA multi dimensional framework for costing sustainable water and sanitation services in low-income settings : lessons from collecting actual life cycle costs for rural and peri-urban areas of Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Andhra Pradesh
Publication TypeResearch Report
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsFonseca, C, Batchelor, C, Moriarty, PB, Naafs, A, Snehalatha, M, Reddy, R, Nyarko, K, Klutse, A, Pezon, C, Potter, A, Verhoeven, J
Secondary TitleWASHCost research report
VolumeV1.0
Pagination41 p.; 2 fig.; 14 tab.
Date Published2010-11-01
PublisherIRC
Place PublishedThe Hague, The Netherlands
Keywordscost benefit analysis, cost recovery, low-income communities, service delivery, WASHCost
Abstract

The water and sanitation sector faces a sustainability challenge because of the emphasis on installing pipes and pumps instead of ongoing service delivery. When a WASH service is unreliable or completely fails, it is the people without access to safe alternatives who are most affected. People lose the essential services they have come to expect. One way to face this challenge is to assess and estimate the life-cycle costs of providing WASH services. What are the construction, operation, and maintenance costs for ensuring delivery of adequate, equitable and sustainable WASH services? What are the renewal, replacement and rehabilitation costs needed to
ensure sustainability? How much does it take to support post-construction activities? As life-cycle costs become mainstreamed, governments, donors, NGOs and the private sector will be better able to plan for service delivery and know how and where to invest to keep service quality from falling back. Understanding, collecting and using these life-cycle costs is the aim of the WASHCost project. Guided by Learning Alliances, WASHCost is taking place in Andhra Pradesh (India), Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique. The collection and disaggregation of cost data over the full life-cycle of WASH services provides a better understanding of costs drivers and enables cost effective and equitable service delivery. WASHCost has adopted an action-oriented or stakeholder-driven approach to research. There is a constant balancing act between the priorities at country level and those at international/global level – while ensuring that all teams progress at the same speed. The country teams keep a balance between these priorities. [authors abstract]

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