Overview

The 2006 UN Human Development Report noted that 1.1 billion people around the world have inadequate access to clean water and 2.6 billion  people lack basic sanitation.  Safe and reliable water systems are a vital component of MCC’s mission to reduce poverty through economic growth around the world.  MCC-funded water and sanitation projects vary depending on their environment, but generally focus on providing better access to water and improving water quality. 

Improved water and sanitation can generate additional income in three ways:

• Decreased cost of water.  Improved water supplies can lower the costs of water use and/or reduce the time spent obtaining water, which can generate income if time is used in a more productive manner.
• Reduced incidence of disease.  Improved water supplies and/or sanitation services can lower the incidence of water-borne disease among users and the wider community. The reduction in morbidity and mortality can raise labor productivity over the long term.
• Increase in private business activity.  Improved water supplies can facilitate business expansion.  Many businesses rely on water as a production input, and a more convenient water supply can reduce the cost of that input.

Although the proximate benefits of water and sanitation projects are clear, their wider impact is often improperly understood.  The drought of serious study on the matter has in many cases left important questions without answers.  MCC-funded projects examine not only the direct impact of improved water and sanitation in terms of time savings and/or reduced illness, but also the broader impact these interventions have on productivity and poverty reduction.  By studying the effectiveness of a variety of water and sanitation interventions within and across countries, MCC can obtain useful information for future investments and contribute to knowledge creation in the sector.

Logic Model

MCC Impact Evaluations in Progress

Sort the table by clicking on the column headers. Arrows indicate ascending and descending order.

Country	Project/Activity	Focus of Evaluation	Methodology
El Salvador	Water and Sanitation Sub-Activity	Impact of water and sanitation on the cost of water, water consumption, illness, time use, and household income	Matching
Lesotho	Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Activity	Do rural water supply and sanitation interventions: reduce water-related health problems; and/or provide time savings? Do time savings from an improved water supply increase the productivity and income of beneficiaries?	Randomized control trial
Lesotho	Urban and Peri-Urban Water Network Activity	Does the urban water supply activity: increase enterprise activity; and provide time savings?	Matching
Lesotho	Urban and Peri-Urban Water Network Activity	Do time savings from an improved water supply increase the productivity and income of beneficiaries?  Does the urban water supply activity lower the cost of providing water to Lesotho’s Water and Sewage Authority and are these savings passed on to consumers?	TBD
Mozambique	Water Supply and Sanitation Project	Does increased access to improved rural water points improve health outcomes, particularly with respect to diarrhea, and reduce the time needed to collect water? Does the appropriate use of technology in rural water supply improve financial sustainability, raise productivity, and/or increase household income?	Randomized control trial