The private sector and water and sanitation services - policy and poverty issues

Poor access to water and sanitation is a major poverty issue affecting a large part of the developing world. In their urgency to meet internationally agreed water and sanitation targets, Governments and International Agencies seek new ways and means, including increased use of the private sector. Commercial participation in the water sector is not without vociferous critics, as well as strong proponents. Even accepting the international water and sanitation targets for service coverage - and these authors question their feasibility - it seems clear that no single player in the partnership between public sector, private sector and communities can be responsible for achieving them. Each player has individual roles and requirements, and the strengths of each are needed. Dogmatic promotion or rejection of ʹprivatizationʹ is unhelpful. We appeal to the politically naïve to try to understand privatizationʹs opponents, and for those who protest against the ʹcommodificationʹ of water to shelve their dogmas as they join the common pursuit of permanently improved services for the poor.