Private Sector Engagement

“Tackling sanitation challenges is key to advancing human development. The Deputy Secretary General is aiming to bring together key partners from government, civil society, business and international organizations to commit to action.” - The UN Deputy Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Sanitation (2013) Based on evidence from three successful pilot projects, East Meets West scaled the Output-Based Aid (OBA) model to drive private sector engagement in the delivery of clean water services and hygienic latrines to underserved communities in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The research revealed that the private sector can both successfully deliver efficient water and sanitation services and adapt more readily to new technologies than government agencies or nonprofits. Furthermore, consumer willingness to invest appears to be directly related to the quality of service. When clean water delivery is reliable, families, even in the poorest communities, will pay for it. East Meets West has developed a method for calculating full cost recovery tariffs and smart subsidy levels which governments are adopting. Along with newly introduced competitive and transparent bidding processes, there has been a substantial increase in private investment in the sector. While maximizing social welfare for households, private sector partnerships support financial sustainability and job creation – particularly with East Meets West’s emphasis on female entrepreneurs.  East Meets West demonstrates that innovative funding mechanisms significantly increase private enterprise involvement in WASH service delivery.