There is an urgent need to improve the delivery of water and environmental sanitation services to the urban poor in low and middle-income countries to protect health and to promote sustainable livelihoods. Conventional support to public providers through loans for capital investment linked to...

The failure of many developing countries water utilities to provide adequate services to low-income urban populations stands in marked contrast with calls for universal access to water services, often based on a concept of human rights. Much of the parallel, regulation oriented, 'universal...