This powerpoint was presented by WSP Consultant, Sophie Hickling,during AfricaSan 3 (Kigali, Rwanda - 2011) under the "Economics of Sanitation for Advocacy and Decision Making" session.
This session introduced the Economics of Sanitation Initiative (ESI) aims, rationale, and methods. A panel of experts from government, donors and other sector specialists in Africa commented on the use of ESI results for sanitation financing; the use of media to influence stakeholders; the mechanisms for adopting ESI results into government decision making; and critical assessment and proposed improvement to ESI methods.
5. Mortality costs are the largest national cost of poor sanitation Example: Burkina Faso loses US$ 136 million each year due to mortality
6. Healthcarecosts resulting from poor sanitation are a heavy burden Example: Ghana spends US$ 54 million on health care each year
7. Finding a private location to defecate leads to economic loses which affect women most Example: Niger loses US$ 23 million each year in access time
8. Incapacity due to sickness and time accessing healthcare result in lost productivity Example: Kenya loses US$ 2.7 million each year in productivity
9. Costs associated with open defecation are greater than fixed point sanitation Example: In Rwanda OD costs US$ 2 more per open defecator than either unimproved or shared latrines
10. The economic burden of poor sanitation falls most heavily on the poorest Example: In Nigeria average cost of poor sanitation is almost 10% of average salary for the poorest.
11. Other potentially significant costs Epidemics: Annual additional cost of responding to cholera in Mozambique is est. US$ 5.1 million. Funerals: Sanitation-related funerals costs in Burkina Faso is est. US$ 1.5 million per year Water pollution: Poor sanitation affects drinking water sources increasing costs of treatment and supply
12. Other potentially significant costs Tourism: Based on existing travel and tourism contribution to GDP, by addressing poor sanitation in Ghana could gain est. US$ 8.5 milion each year. Cognitive development: Long term economic losses: early childhood diarrhoeaunder nutrition reduced cognitive development. STH infection impaired cognitive development. Excreta re-use: Could bring potential economic benefit.
13. Conclusions Public financing of sanitation is a good investment and should be increased Public sector investment in sanitation is an important tool in poverty alleviation Public sector financing of sanitation strengthens other areas of the economy