Publication launch: OBA for sustainable sanitation

As previously announced on this site, we launched a new GPOBA/WSP publication examining the potential use of OBA for sustainable sanitation at Stockholm World Water Week. Although it came at the end of a very long and stimulating week, the session was well attended and generated masses of interest and questions, from horizons as diverse as Soudan, South Africa or India. A key message stemming out of the presentation was that although developing a fully blown OBA project funded by international donors may appear challenging, the basic principles underlying OBA (including an approach based on service delivery rather than products, payment on performance and poverty targeting) could underlie the definition of much more efficient and equitable ways of channelling funds to the sanitation sector. Such funds could come from a variety of sources, including donors but also from government sources, cross-subsidies or even payments from parties interested in a better performing sanitation sector (such as the tourism industry). Interestingly, GPOBA, one of the rare providers of subsidy funding for pilot OBA schemes announced its plans to reduce substantially overall subsidy amounts available (to become a centre of expertise on results-based financing rather than a subsidy fund per se) although certain sectors seen as "challenging" (including sanitation) could still receive some limited subsidy amounts for years to come.