Local funding to improve water, sanitation and hygiene services in Africa and Asia

Local governments play an important role in making sure their communities have safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. But they are often held back by the resources needed to run them. With sufficient and dedicated funding from central governments, local governments can be empowered to make decisions and help deliver on Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Local government funding plays a vital role in improving people’s access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in households, schools, healthcare facilities and other public spaces.

WASH services can be improved when local governments are given the means to make services equitable and sustainable. This requires effective decentralisation – transferring budgets and spending to local government – together with the timely release of funds from central government.

However, our research in Cambodia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Uganda shows there are still many challenges to making this possible.

These include:

• Low funding transfers from central government
• Lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities
• Delays in the release of funds
• Limited local capacity

These reports examine the status of local government funding in relation to WASH services in countries across Africa and Asia, examining current experience and practice. They complement reports on local government funding of urban sanitation published in August 2024.

The first two national reports in this series focus on Cambodia (for water supply only) and Timor-Leste. They provide recommendations for stakeholders to address critical financing bottlenecks, and help on progress for national WASH policies.

Top image: Meas Art in her community in Sameakki Mean Chey District, Cambodia. February 2023.