UNICEF Calls For Greater Investment In Water And Sanitation In The Pacific

A new UNICEF report highlights the need to increase investments in water and sanitation in the Pacific to reach SDG 6 by 2030. 

SUVA, FIJI 7 July 2023 – Funding levels for water and sanitation in the Pacific must increase considerably if children are to have universal access by 2030 according to a new UNICEF report.

The UNICEF report Financing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in the Pacific finds that basic sanitation services across 14 Pacific Island Countries are expanding at just one-eighth the rate required to reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

“Too many children are facing a future where they will not have a toilet to use or safe water to drink,” said UNICEF Pacific Deputy Representative, Roshni Basu. “This report must not be taken lightly. Access to clean water and safe sanitation is the cornerstone of a child’s wellbeing and development. We must work together to change the picture.”

According to the report, approximately US$230-$270 million is spent on WASH each year across the region. This equates to US$90-$110 per person per year on average, or US$55- $80 when Fiji is excluded.

While per capita funding may appear high by global standards, the vastness of the Pacific and the isolation from the rest of the world drive the cost of development and maintenance of sustainable WASH infrastructure up much higher than the global average.

Furthermore, donor funding for WASH does not always correlate with need. For instance, two countries that were identified to have the greatest access to at least basic services in 2011 have since received the highest levels of donor funding for WASH per capita.

“The remoteness of Pacific Island countries compounded with the risks of climate change is putting stress on the availability and quality of WASH services,” says Kencho Namgyal, Chief of WASH. “The climate crisis exacerbates the risk to WASH and creates the need for additional funding to ensure WASH services are resilient to climate risk.”

The report also shows that across the 14 countries, 50 – 55 per cent of funding comes from local government resources, while 20 – 25 per cent comes from donors. When Fiji is excluded, government contributions were lower, at 10 – 25 per cent, while donors contributed 45 – 55 per cent and households contributed 35 – 45 per cent of the WASH spending.

There are already potential opportunities to change this picture. For example, current trends have shown that only 11 per cent of the funding commitments for climate change adaptation have been dedicated to WASH activities, a stark difference from the global ratio of 37 per cent.

With the current investment trends, universal access to at least basic sanitation will not be achieved until the next century, whereas universal access to at least basic water services will never be achieved if coverage levels continue to regress.

UNICEF Pacific is concerned with the findings of the report and urges partners to prioritize investment to ensure every child has access to high quality and climate resilient WASH infrastructure in their community.

Notes: 

Methodology:

Data on WASH spending and service delivery was extracted from a range of data sources. To gain a comprehensive picture of the funding, data was derived from government budget documents and reports for domestic governments (public funding), donor funding from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Creditor Reporting System and other published reports (official development assistance and repayable loans), and households from national surveys such as Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIES) data and information from UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLASS 2018) report, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Expenditure by Functions of Government database and International Benchmarking Network Utility Annual Report. The analysis in this report considers data from 2011 onwards. The documents and databases reviewed included:

· Government budget statements

· IMF Expenditure by Function of Government (COFOG)

· OECD database for Official Development Assistance

· AidData

· Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map

· Utility annual reports

· Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIES)

· UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of

· Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme.

The analysis and findings were validated with key stakeholders for selected countries. Bilateral discussions were held with respective stakeholders in Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands. In addition, verbal and written feedback was also received from development partners such as the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFTAT), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Green Growth Initiative (GGI) and the European Union.

Fiji constitutes more than a third of the region’s population, and therefore heavily influenced the results. An additional analysis was therefore conducted on a sub-set of 13 countries (excluding Fiji).

Key Data:

· Approximately US$230–$270m is spent on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) each year across 14 Pacific Island Countries, equivalent to around US$90–110 per person per year.

· WASH spending has dropped to US$90–$120 million per year, or US$55–$80 per person per year when Fiji is excluded.

· Annual WASH expenditure is between US$20-$150 per person in most countries.

· Overall, WASH expenditure accounts for 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP; range 0.4 per cent–4.1 per cent).

· Donor and public funding for WASH peaked in 2018, but there was a significant drop in donor funding in 2020.

· Donor funding for WASH does not always correlate with need. For instance, two countries that were identified to have the greatest access to at least basic services in 2011 have since received the highest levels of donor funding for WASH per capita. In contrast, the four countries with the lowest access to basic services were ranked 5th, 10th, 11th, and 13th in donor funding for WASH.

· The WASH sectors in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were the most severely underfunded relative to need.

· Expenditure on solid waste management is around US$8–$12 million per year (US$3–$5 per capita), although donor funding directed to waste management and disposal appears to be increasing and has trebled since 2017.

Key Results:

· For every million dollars spent on WASH by governments and donors in the Pacific in 2016–2020, around 120-130 people have been connected to a piped water or sewerage network and 320-340 people have gained access to a basic water or sanitation service.

· $850m - Spent on WASH by governments and donors in the Pacific in 2016–2020.

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