Dear Doreen,

Thank you for very comprehensively capturing the experience of using subsidies as a way of accelerating access to sanitation. Looking forward to remarks and comments from other organizations implementing sanitation projects.

Regards

Charlotte

Dear Doreen and Regina,

Congratulations on your publication!

It can be found in the SuSanA library now: www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...library/details/3748

Best regards,
Christian

Dear Sanitation Colleagues,

We are pleased to share with you the final version of the new GIZ publication “Toilets on Discount! Sharing GIZ’s experience with accelerating access to sanitation through household toilet subsidies”.

This publication compliments the World Bank’s recent call for action (see WB report “Doing more with less: Smarter Subsidies for Water Supply and Sanitation”) by sharing GIZ’s experience with implementing pro-poor subsidies in sanitation specifically for the construction of household toilets. The guiding question is how to design smart subsidies that are scalable so that it is possible to significantly increase access to sanitation in the context of scarce financial resources. After dispelling three prevalent myths about subsidies for household sanitation, the paper makes the case for good subsidy design, proposes a set of design variables and examines the inevitable trade-offs when making design choices. The paper draws heavily on GIZ’s own experience in providing technical assistance for the design and implementation of household sanitation subsidies in
Kenya and Burkina Faso.

The paper concludes that sanitation subsidies can contribute towards realizing the 2030 Agenda principle of Leaving No One Behind, but only if they are designed appropriately. We argue that the success of sanitation subsidies needs to be evaluated first and foremost against the criteria of leaving no one behind.

Reigniting the subsidies debate is important in the context of the financing gap for SDG 6. The WASH sector has always been highly subsidized. Yet, evidence shows that those subsidies mostly flow into support for existing customers rather than extension of services to the underserved. Many institutions have given increasing attention to the question of mobilizing additional funding and repayable finance for WASH. However, mobilizing more money is not sufficient to achieve SDG 6. We simultaneously need to ensure that the money that is allocated to the sector gets SPENT effectively and leads to better WASH services for more people, including those currently left behind.

This publication marks a starting point, not an end. We already have several activities lined up for 2020 to further the subsidy debate. Among other things, we are involved in a session on subsidies at the AfWA International Congress in February in Kampala, and are planning to co-convene a session at Stockholm World Water Week.

Feel free to share this publication in your networks.
All the best for 2020,

Doreen Mbalo (GIZ) and Regina Rossmann (GIZ)