Development aid and access to water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa

The sub-Saharan Africa region currently has 32% of its population without access to improved water sources and 695 million people without improved sanitation facilities. Achieving the sustainable development goal of ensuring access to water and sanitation for all by 2030 remains a challenge. Due to financial constraints in their efforts to increase water and sanitation access, governments across sub-Saharan African have been recipients of official development assistance. This chapter discusses the performance of official development aid in sub-Saharan Africa’s water and sanitation sector and also reviews factors that determined successes or failures in improving the sector. This chapter also provides updated information on allocated development assistance to the water and sanitation sector in sub-Saharan Africa and the corresponding outcomes. Using the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, this chapter uncovers factors that impede aid’s effectiveness in improving access to a water supply and sanitation. The chapter also discusses the outcomes of different water supply models across sub-Saharan Africa and their impact on access to water and sanitation in the region.