UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Intergovernmental Organization

Name of Organization:	European Commission

Name of Focal Point:	Ms. Aurore Maillet, Ms. Gyorgyi Gurban

Initiative Title:	ACP – EU Water Facility

Internet links:

Scope:

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: 2004 End:

Lead Institution:	Europe Aid Co-operation Office

Stakeholders/Partners:	ACP countries

Relevent issues:	- Improving access to energy, clean water and sanitation

Objectives/Challenges:

The overall objective is to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development through the achievement of the specific Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD)outcome.

More specifically, the Facility aims to boost the sustainable delivery of water and sanitation infrastructure and improve water governance and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) practices in ACP countries by helping to address the financing gap.

Lessons Learned:

The response to the Facility has shown a high and unsatisfied level of demand for this kind of finance. It has demonstrated its added value in allowing new partnerships for investment in infrastructure, in mobilising the relevant local actors involved in the provision of services and in contributing to better governance and management.

Summary:

In March 2004, the EU Council decided to consider allocating a total amount of €500 million for an ACP-EU Water Facility, to be funded from the conditional €1 billion of the 9th EDF.
The Facility was designed to address the real needs of mixing loans and grants and bringing funds directly to local level.
The projects are estimated to bring access to water and/or sanitation to about 21 million people over the next four years.