Looking Beyond Government-Led Delivery of Water Supply and Sanitation Services: The Market Choices and Practices of Haiti’s Most Vulnerable People
Summary — This report examines water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in Haiti, focusing on the market choices of vulnerable populations. It analyzes the linkages between access to WASH services, poverty, and health outcomes, particularly stunting in children, and explores the role of the private sector in WSS service delivery.
Key Findings
- Poverty and extreme poverty are significantly higher in rural areas, limiting access to basic services.
- A million Haitians are vulnerable to falling back into poverty due to shocks, especially health-related shocks.
- Access to improved drinking water has declined over the past 25 years, hitting the poorest hardest.
- The private sector plays a significant role in urban water markets, but prices are often prohibitive for the poor.
- Government-led water supply services are of low quality and financially unsustainable.
Full Description
The Haiti WASH Poverty Diagnostic assesses the linkages between improved access to water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, poverty, and health outcomes. It provides evidence of the connections between improved access to WSS and factors affecting child development, focusing on stunting. The diagnostic also analyzes the functioning of WSS markets, particularly in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, to identify ways to ensure that private sector services are of good quality and affordable. It examines water supply and fecal waste collection, transportation, and treatment services, aiming to inform stakeholders on addressing issues and structuring successful public-private partnerships.