Lessons from market-based approaches to improved hygiene for the rural poor in developing countries

The countries that adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have pledged to halve the proportion of the people without access to water supply and sanitation by the year 2015. Existing strategies have been slowed in closing the gap. Few countries have long-term, financially viable programs and many programs deliver a standard heavily subsidized model, which does not reach many of the poor in the short-term. This paper discusses alternative strategies that focus on effective, low-cost water treatment and sanitation technologies that aim to reach more people for far less cost than conventional approaches. This approach is particularly relevant to the vulnerable groups of the population and poor regions of developing countries. Experience and illustrations come from Cambodia and Vietnam where nearly 80% of the poor live in rural areas and the market for small-scale water supply and sanitation is relatively underdeveloped.