The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and WaterLinks are implementing a two-year public-private partnership initiative, which will end in April 2015, to ensure the sustainability of the WaterLinks non-profit organization to expand access to safe water supplies and sustainable sanitation services in Southeast and South Asia.

About 1.9 billion more people will migrate to Asian cities by 2050. Currently over 340 million people do not have access to safe water supplies and more than 680 million lack sustainable sanitation services. Water service providers struggle to adequately deliver services, especially to underprivileged communities and women.

Adequate delivery of safe, continuous water supply and sustainable sanitation services, such as this Indian community, remains a huge challenge for rapidly growing Asian towns and cities.

Arijanto Istandar

Developing Innovative Solutions

The WaterLinks Alliance seeks support from private sector and development partners to expand positive impacts to urban water services delivery through twinning partnerships and regional training.

Through the Alliance, USAID and WaterLinks will collaborate with development partners including international development agencies, civil society groups, and national water associations to: increase access to water service to urban communities, including the underprivileged; build the capacities of water

services providers to enhance and sustain operational efficiency improvements; and promote increased cooperation and sharing of information between urban water service providers to address common challenges in their delivery of water and sanitation services.

Making Twinning Partnerships Work

Twinning partnerships between urban water service providers can prove invaluable in expanding access to water and sanitation services and building climate resiliency. Partnerships drive peer-to-peer exchanges of innovative approaches to build capacities. Increased capabilities foster more efficient and effective management and operations of water services, ultimately leading to better delivery of water and sanitation services to urban residents.

Partners

The Global Water Operators Partnership Alliance, Asian Development Bank, Borouge (Singapore), and selected water companies in Asia and Australia.