Safe sanitation through public-private partnerships

A toilet is not just a toilet. It’s a life-saver, dignity-protector and opportunity-maker. Whoever you are, wherever you are, sanitation is your human right. Yet today, 4.2 billion people live without safely managed sanitation. We must expand access to safe toilets and leave no one behind. (Source: UN World Toilet Day 2019)

FINISH INK is a public-private partnership (PPP) that seeks to scale access to safe sanitation through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Kenya. The FINISH programme aims to make safe sanitation and improved health a reality for all by 2030. The programme combines demand generation and supply development with sound finance constructions. Demand for improved sanitation systems increases opportunities for the livelihoods of local artisans and sanitation businesses. This, in turn, stimulates financial institutions that provide loans to companies which construct the improved sanitation systems.

Results

On the demand side, since 2013, approximately €9 million in sanitation loans have been granted to improve almost 15,000 toilets for households. As a result of 53 sanitation loans, institutions have realised access to improved toilets for just under 90,000 people in Kenya and over 300,000 people indirectly. On the supply side, over 206 sanitation businesses have been supported through business training, coaching and mentorship and coupled with financial partners for sanitation loans. In addition, 394 government health officers and 500 community health volunteers (from the Ministry of Health) have received capacity development support resulting in a 40% cost-reduction and increased longevity of the sanitation systems installed.

Based on the success of the FINISH model in Kenya and India (where this model was first piloted in 2009), the project will gradually expand to four more countries. As a result the FiINISH Mondial programme, which is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be rolled out in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Bangladesh.

FINISH INK is a consortium involving WASTE (chair), Amref Flying Doctors the Netherlands in partnership with Amref Health Africa, the Kenyan Ministry of Health, Sidian Bank, Family Bank, Imarika Sacco, Actiam, Take-A-Stake Fund and Goodwell Investments. This Sustainable Water Fund (FDW) PPP is co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. The Dutch ministry strives to encourage public-private partnerships in the sanitation and water sectors, with the aim of improving their water safety and security in developing and emerging countries.

World Toilet Day

World Toilet Day is aiming to raise awareness on how we can best work together to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

Currently, the world is not on track to reach Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6, clean water and sanitation). Today, 4.2 billion people live without access to safely managed sanitation facilities and more than half a million people still practice open defecation, which has cross-cutting impacts on the health of both people and the environment. The impact of exposure to untreated human faeces on this scale has a devastating impact on public health, living and working conditions, nutrition, education and economic productivity across the world. Failure to achieve this goal poses a risk to the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through programmes like FINISH INK and FINISH Mondial, the Dutch government has successfully supported public-private partnerships. These accelerate the sustainable development of water and sanitation services in developing countries and work towards healthier and economically empowered communities.

Article first published on https://english.rvo.nl/news/safe-sanitation-through-public-private-partnerships