Title: Utility and non-state water service provision for the urban poor

Authors: Kevin Sansom, Annette Bos

Addresses: Water, Enginerring and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK. ' National Urban Water Governance Program, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia

Abstract: Inadequate water service provision to the urban poor remains a serious problem in low-income countries. Utilities lack the resources, obligations or incentives for service expansion and there may be a long delay before water utilities are in a position to extend services. Non-state water providers, including both formal and informal local private providers, as well as civil society institutions, play a large role in provision of services to the urban poor and are increasingly recognised as a potential effective means of service provision to the urban poor. Governments should seek to create a better enabling environment for utilities both to overcome disincentives in service provision to the poor and to seek more effective ways of engagement with the non-state providers.

Keywords: water utilities; non-state providers; NSP; urban poor; poverty; water services; water supply; service provision.

DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2008.019499

International Journal of Water, 2008 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.290 - 303

Published online: 14 Jul 2008 *

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