Live Q&A: $114bn a year needed for water and toilets – where will it come from? | Source: The Guardian, Sept 8, 2016 |
How do we raise funds needed to reach the millions without access to water and sanitation? Discuss with an expert panel on 15 September, 3–4.30pm BST
About $28.4bn (£21.2bn) is spent each year to provide access to water and sanitation around the world. If this investment is maintained, by 2030 everyone will have access to drinking water, an adequate toilet, and a suitable place to wash their hands.
Access to clean and affordable water and a safe place to go to the toilet will cost $114bn a year. Photograph: Rupak de Chowdhuri/Reuters
But the sustainable development goals go beyond just basic access; they envision a world where everyone has access to clean and affordable drinking water and a safe place to go to the toilet. This level of access will cost $114bn a year, the World Bank estimates.
The water and finance communities need to find ways to triple current levels of investment, and they need to do it quickly. “We’re already one year into the SDGs,” says Bill Kingdom, global lead for water supply and sanitation at the World Bank’s Water Global Practice. “If we carry on with business as usual for the next year, that’s two years gone, and that $114bn a year becomes $127bn for the remaining 13 years.”
Which innovative ideas could realistically help raise the additional $85.6bn needed annually? What will make the water industry attractive to lenders? How do we address the privatisation of services and make sure water and sanitation is affordable for all?
Join an expert panel on Thursday 15 September, from 3pm to 4.30pm BST, to discuss these questions and more.
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Sanitation Updates 