WELCOME TO
Africa Environmental Health Organization
Workshop Topic
The Economics of WASH: Financing Sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Sustainable Development.
Brief Introduction
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services are fundamental to public health, economic productivity, climate resilience, and national development. Many countries including Nigeria, face persistent financing gaps, weak governance structures, and unsustainable service models.
This training program provides a comprehensive, economics driven understanding of how WASH systems can be financed, managed, and sustained using innovative, inclusive, and evidence based approaches.
Participants will explore public finance, private sector models, blended finance, climate funds, cost recovery, project design, and economic analysis, equipping them to design and implement financially viable WASH interventions.
Course Objectives
By the end of the program, participants will be able to:
Knowledge Objectives
- Understand the economic foundations of WASH and its role in national development.
- Analyse the costs, benefits, and financing needs of WASH systems.
- Identify public, private, and community-based financing mechanisms.
- Understand the role of climate finance, blended finance, and microfinance in WASH.
Skills Objectives
- Conduct WASH costing, budgeting, and lifecycle analysis.
- Develop bankable WASH project proposals.
- Apply tools such as WASH BAT, MEL frameworks, and investment models.
- Strengthen institutional governance, accountability, and financial management.
Impact Objectives
- Improve the financial sustainability of WASH programs.
- Strengthen institutional capacity for long-term WASH planning.
- Support national and sub-national progress toward SDG 6.
Course Modules (5–7 Days)
DAY 1 — Foundations of the WASH Economy
- Introduction to the WASH Economy
- Economic value of WASH
- Human capital, productivity, and public health
- Nigeria’s WASH financing landscape
DAY 2 — Public, Private & Community Financing
- Government budgeting and public finance
- Tariffs, subsidies, and cost recovery
- Community-based financing models
- Private sector participation and PPPs
DAY 3 — Innovative Financing Mechanisms
- Blended finance
- Climate finance for WASH
- Microfinance and household-level financing
- Pay-as-you-go and market-based models
DAY 4 — Infrastructure Economics
- Costing and budgeting for water systems
- Sanitation and fecal sludge management economics
- Rural vs urban WASH financing
- Lifecycle costing and asset management
DAY 5 — Governance, Accountability & Behavioural Economics
- Regulatory frameworks
- Transparency and financial accountability
- Behaviour change and demand creation
- Social marketing for WASH
DAY 6 — WASH, Climate Resilience & Public Health
- Climate-smart WASH
- Risk mitigation and resilience planning
- Public health economics
- Equity, gender, and inclusive WASH
DAY 7 — Project Design, MEL & Action Planning
- Developing bankable WASH projects
- Proposal writing and feasibility analysis
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
- Institutional action plans and presentations
Target Audience
This program is ideal for:
- Government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs)
- WASH officers and environmental health professionals
- NGOs, CSOs, and development practitioners
- Water corporations and utilities
- Local government officials
- Donor-funded project teams
- Private sector WASH service providers
- Researchers and policy analysts
- Community-based organizations
Participants will gain
- Strong understanding of WASH economics and financing models
- Ability to design financially sustainable WASH programs
- Skills in costing, budgeting, and economic analysis
- Knowledge of climate finance and innovative funding sources Professional Benefits
- Strengthened leadership and decision-making capacity
- Improved ability to engage donors and development partners
- Enhanced project design and proposal development skills
- Certificate of Completion
- Better financial planning and accountability
- Stronger WASH governance and service delivery
- Improved access to funding opportunities
- Enhanced capacity to meet SDG 6 targets
Workshop Cost:
- AFREHO Members: ₦100,000
- Non-Member: ₦250,000
- Venue: Abuja FCT, Nigeria
- Date: October, 2026