Improving water security for the poor

Scaling up results-based funding for rural water services

In 2016, a results-based funding model was developed to improve the reliability of rural drinking water supply services in Kenya. The Water Services Maintenance Trust Fund (WSMTF) has tested a professional service delivery model in two counties and attracted new sources of results-based funds to guarantee water services in rural communities. 

The WSMTF provides an example of how the funding gap can be met by non-donor funds in results-based contracts. In 2017, donor funds paid for 81% of WSMTF contracts, by 2021, the donor proportion had fallen to 14%. In the same period, the annual WSMTF resources increased from just under USD 50,000 to over USD 150,000.

The WSMTF has informed the work of the Uptime Catalyst Facility which has issued results-based contracts guaranteeing reliable drinking water for over 4 million rural people in 12 countries in 2023.

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‘Our partnership with REACH recognises science has a critical role in designing and delivering effective policy and improving practice on the ground.’

KELLY ANN NAYLOR, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH) SECTION, PROGRAMME DIVISION, UNICEF

'Access to water is a defining challenge for the 21st century. The UK has already helped 43 million people to access clean water, but there is far more to be done.'

UK DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE

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