Overview of the Challenge

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In the Philippines, typhoons and flooding leave 74% of households disrupted, with water supply and sanitation systems often collapsing under strain. While 62% of households have access to safely managed sanitation services, only 48% access safely managed drinking water. Women disproportionately spend time fetching water, while low-income households pay up to 30 times more due to unregulated private suppliers.

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The Ask

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Water.org needed to pinpoint how its WaterCredit program could strengthen resilience in disaster-prone regions. They required localized vulnerability mapping to identify financing needs, quantify demand for WASH loans, and recommend systemic reforms for utilities, small enterprises, and households.

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What We Did

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Athena Infonomics and Water.org mapped vulnerabilities in Zamboanga, Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas, and Bicol. Findings revealed high dependence on septic tanks (81% never desludged) and limited access to financial support, with only 2% of households receiving subsidies or grants.

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What to Expect

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Recommendations included WaterCredit loans for household water storage and desludging, alongside decentralized wastewater treatment to reduce open defecation. Nationally, reforms proposed pooled financing for small utilities, performance-linked tariffs, and incentives for smart technologies to cut water losses.

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Photo credit: CNN

For more details on the project, read.

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