Capitalization of water connection projects for vulnerable households implemented by AFD in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast

In the Sahel, territories are facing situations of vulnerability, crisis and conflict. Entire regions are falling into “vulnerability traps” where social, economic and institutional determinants are combined, under the accelerating effect of climate change and demographic transformations. Households’ access to a drinking water supply service appears to be a sine qua non condition for reducing their vulnerability and the fragilities that exacerbate crises.

For many years, AFD has financed projects that include the creation of private connections to the water service. Their implementation characteristics differ, and their results are uneven in terms of effectiveness, efficiency of financing and impact. In particular, they often remain localized to their initial perimeter and have difficulty in becoming part of a long-term policy.

For evaluation and capitalization purposes, AFD commissioned Phœnix and the LASTA research laboratory to conduct a three-stage assessment of its subsidized connection projects. First, on the basis of an evaluation grid, Phœnix will propose a comparative analysis of all the connection systems financed by AFD over the last ten years. Secondly, an in-depth comparative evaluation of two projects (one in Burkina Faso and the other in Côte d’Ivoire) will be carried out. This work will be based on surveys of 2 x 1000 households in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. In the end, Phœnix will make recommendations for the institutionalization of these programs and on the modus operandi to be adopted by AFD to help guide its future actions.

We are very happy to contribute to this exciting research, alongside the LASTA!