Consultation on the next EU Water Facility

200 million euros have been approved under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) and guidelines are currently being developed in consultation with NGOs. The EU is planning to put out a call for proposals at the end of 2009.

The new EUWF will have a total budget of €200 million. While this is not a huge amount in the light of identified deficits in ACP countries concerning the MDG targets on water and sanitation, it is still sufficient to make a difference if it is well focused and used to catalyse funds and activities in areas which do not otherwise get enough attention. It should be recalled that the added value of the EUWF is that it is a unique co-funding mechanism for European and ACP NGOs, civil society organisations and local authorities, if properly targeted to small scale projects benefiting the poor.

It is clear from several studies, including those of the EU Water Initiative Africa Working Group, that many countries experience slow increases in coverage and are far off-track for reaching the water and sanitation MDGs. Sanitation is the most off-track MDG target. The International Year of Sanitation has highlighted the need to pay much more attention to sanitation in order to deliver benefits in public health, environmental protection and economic development.