What are WaterAid's policy positions?

1. What is WaterAid's position on the privatisation of water companies in the developing world?

WaterAid strongly believes that privatisation should not be imposed upon poor countries through aid conditions, trade rules or conditions for debt cancellation. Instead, national and local governments must manage and regulate water and sanitation services and ensure the accountability of the public, community or private organisations delivering them.

WaterAid believes there is not one single solution to ensuring everyone gains access to water and sanitation, so it is impossible to say in general terms whether it is a good idea for private, public or community organisations to be involved in the delivery and management of services.

Each circumstance should be looked at individually and a suitable pro-poor, affordable and sustainable solution found to fit each community.

Read our full position statement on private sector participation.

2. As water is a human right, how does WaterAid use this to ensure water for all?

WaterAid lobbied to establish the right to water and is now working to help the world's poorest people achieve that right in the following ways:

• Helping its partner organisations in Africa and Asia to understand and promote the right to water to lobby their governments to allocate further resources to these basic services through our Citizen's Action project.
• Defending the right to water with some governments which question whether there is sufficient mandate for water to be viewed as a right.
• Working with a range of other rights organisations to develop learning and understanding about the right to water.

Read our full position statement on the right to water.

3. If water and sanitation are so important, how much is being spent to resolve the problem?

To reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water or sanitation by 2015 some £16.25 billion needs to be spent annually.

However only £7.6 billion is currently spent annually which is why WaterAid is lobbying to double financing from all sources.

Correcting the present under-investment in the sector cannot be justified unless the financial waste which goes on is also eliminated. Therefore WaterAid not only lobbies for more aid but also for improvements in how and where it is spent.

Read our full position statement on financing the sector.

4. Do you carry out work with governments?

WaterAid does work in collaboration with government bodies. In Bangladesh, DFID provides a core-grant to extend WaterAid's programme there. In Nigeria, WaterAid is working in Oju and Obi local government authority areas in support of DFID's Benue State programme. We also work closely with many local government departments, which have been given the responsibility, but often not the resources or training, to carry out water and sanitation work in their area.

WaterAid also represents non governmental organisations on the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, one of the main international groupings of government and professional people working in the global drinking water sector.

WaterAid receives money from the UK government, as one of a wide range of funders, to help address the vital need for safe water and sanitation around the world. As experts in our field we contribute our experience to the development of better projects implemented by others, and to a range of policy issues. The UK government is then able to take up the good practice from these projects and use this learning to greater effect around the world.

WaterAid is also supported by the European Union. Of our total income of £21,304,000 in 2004/5 the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) gave £2.78 million while the Commission of the European Union gave £0.8 million.