COVID-19 has infected nearly 2.5 million people in more than 210 countries.2 Beyond the human tragedy, this pandemic has also ravaged the entire world economy. Human and economic cost is likely to be more significant for lower and middle-income countries, that generally have limited coverage and capacity of water supply and sanitation systems, lower healthcare capacity and larger informal sectors.
This paper, prepared by KPMG in India and RTI, has been put together using insights from more than 25 interviews with senior sanitation sector experts. Key findings are as below:
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Significant decline in government spending expected in short term, impacting new projects
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No significant policy shifts anticipated
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Sanitation workers are in the frontline, and are expected to be affected significantly, shortage of PPE especially in smaller towns
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Revenue contraction at local government level impacting capacity for investments
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Ongoing projects significantly impacted not only by delay in payments, but also a crippling shortage of labour due to reverse migration
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Revenue impact significant for private sector, leading to cash-flow issues, exacerbated by supply chain disruption
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WaSH services to urban poor significantly impacted
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For donor agencies, short term budgetary diversion to healthcare and emergency response expected; WaSH expected to remain priority in the medium to long term for those where it is already a priority
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Increased willingness to pay for quality WaSH services expected in medium to long term.
Report