The real obstacles to universal access to drinking water in developing countries: Thoughts stemming from how poor neighbourhood populations living in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) experience access to drinking water

The purpose of the project Public Private Partnerships and the Poor is to determine workable processes whereby the needs of the poor are promoted in strategies which encourage public-private partnerships (PPP) in the provision of water supply and sanitation services. One of the key objectives is to fill some of the gaps which exist in evidence-based reporting of the facts and issues around the impacts of PPP on poor consumers. The purpose of this article is to provide a retrospective analysis of two drinking water access programmes aimed at populations living in the poor neighbourhoods of (1) Buenos Aires (Argentina) and (2) Port-au-Prince (Haiti). The authors reflect on the real stakes behind these initiatives, based on an analysis of both experiences with their different development structures, and of the management models introduced (giving new momentum to the state-owned company in the case of Haiti and building a public-private partnership in Argentina).