U.S. Water and Sanitation Aid: Millions of Beneficiaries Reported in Developing Countries, but Department of State Needs to Strengthen Strategic Approach
Highlights
The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (the Act) made access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries a U.S. foreign assistance policy objective. The United States provides such assistance mainly through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Act requires the Secretary of State to develop a water and sanitation assistance strategy with the Administrator of USAID; designate high-priority countries for assistance; and report annually to Congress on, among other things, implementation of the strategy and progress toward the U.S. policy objective. As requested, in this report GAO (1) describes USAID's accomplishments; (2) describes USAID's obligations of funds for water and sanitation assistance in fiscal years 2006-2009; (3) assesses the Department of State's (State) development of a U.S. water and sanitation strategy; and (4) examines State's designation of high-priority countries. GAO reviewed State and USAID documents and data and obtained the views of State and USAID officials in Washington, D.C., and 15 countries.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | To enable State to fulfill requirements in the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of USAID, should ensure that the U.S. water and sanitation strategy addresses all components required by the Act, including specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, and timetables for achieving the U.S. foreign assistance objective of providing affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries. |
In their written comments on the report, State and USAID accepted our findings and State accepted our recommendations. However, State's Special Coordinator for Water informed GAO on July 15, 2014, that State has not developed a U.S. government-wide water and sanitation strategy. The State official noted that USAID's 2013 Water and Development Strategy is as far as State would go in developing a U.S. government strategy on water and sanitation because USAID represents the majority of U.S. government funding for water and sanitation that can be programmed in advance. State official noted that in contrast to USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation cannot show a sectoral preference by stating what areas will be targeted in the future because it is required to be responsive the host-country's needs and plans.
|
| Department of State | To enable State to fulfill requirements in the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of USAID, should explain, in the mandated annual reports to Congress, the basis for designations of countries as high priority for water and sanitation assistance, including specific factors considered--in particular, the two criteria established by the Act--as well as any process used to weigh such factors. |
In their written comments on the report, State and USAID accepted our findings and State accepted our recommendations. In 2013, USAID released its first Water and Development Strategy, which articulated criteria for selection of high priority countries for increased USAID assistance to support access to safe water and sanitation (generally referred to as water supply, sanitation, and hygiene or WASH). Specifically, USAID's strategy notes that priority countries were selected based on need and opportunity. USAID identified need on basis of the following quantitative factors: (a) the number of people and the percent of the population without access to improved sources of safe water and sanitation, and (b) the mortality rate and number of deaths of children under five years due to diarrhea. The opportunity criteria comprised of the following qualitative factors: (a) the extent of host government commitment to WASH, (b) presence of supportive enabling environments, and (c) opportunities for leveraging existing donor and/or private sector investments in the water sector. In 2014, USAID also publicly released a Water and Development Strategy Implementation Field Guide, which provided additional details to help implement the strategy and included more information about its WASH priority countries. USAID officials informed us that they have communicated to Congress the list of priority countries and the basis of their selection. Furthermore, in the proposed Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2013 (H.R. 2901), the Congress has referred to USAID's new strategy in defining high priority countries, among other things.
|