Stimulating private sector to provide SMART solutions for rural water supply

After limited success with supply-driven approaches, government of Uganda is pursuing a self supply approach to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services through the private sector. This paper highlights the strategies and lessons learned by World Vision Uganda (WVU) in implementing a comprehensive self supply market-based approach to water services that encompassed all the four pillars of self supply. Private enterprises were identified in a competitive and fun process and trained to provide sustainable market-based appropriate and reliable technologies (SMART) for water supply. WVU conducted awareness and demand creation campaigns on self supply using low-cost water technologies. Private enterprises and households signed contracts. Low cost technologies promoted were Baptist drilling and rope pumps for boreholes. The results showed that households are willing to pay for their own water supply if there are appropriate and affordable water supply technologies.