Given the importance of water and sanitation loans in the Bank's portfolio of infrastructure projects and the significance of the measures that are underway throughout the region, this discussion paper aims to identify those particular features of the water and sanitation sector which...

Water and sanitation utilities in Africa operate in a high-cost environment. They also have a mandate to at least partially recover their costs of operations and maintenance (O&M). As a result, water tariffs are higher than in other regions of the world. The increasing block tariff (IBT) is the...

"Given the relatively small segment of the population that faces genuine affordability problems in Latin America, there appears to be a promising case for using targeted subsidies to reconcile the cost recovery objective with social protection concerns. Social tariff schemes of various kinds are...

Africa's infrastructure : a time for transformation -- The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic -- Meeting Africa's infrastructure needs -- Closing Africa's funding gap -- Dealing with poverty and inequality -- Building sound institutions -- Facilitating urbanization -- Deepening regional...

Given the relatively small segment of the population that faces genuine affordability problems in Latin America, there appears to be a promising case for using targeted subsidies to reconcile the cost recovery objective with social protection concerns. Social tariff schemes of various kinds are...

Sustainable infrastructure development is vital for Africa's prosperity. And now is the time to begin the transformation. This volume is the culmination of an unprecedented effort to document, analyze, and interpret the full extent of the challenge in developing Sub-Saharan Africa's...