Estimating the Economic and Social Benefits of Improved Water and Sanitation Services in Madagascar

The purpose of this workshop was to design an analysis model, sensitive to local conditions, to further support WaterAid Madagascar’s recent efforts to develop a comprehensive evaluation system of the impacts of their water and sanitation projects. Safe access to water supplies and improved sanitation are a platform for sustainable growth, providing central pillars for achieving both short-term and long-term development in these communities. After the initial assessment, which isolated specific indicators, the team built a comprehensive methodology with the goal of measuring the wide range of community and individual socio-economic impacts.To fulfill and support WaterAid’s efforts and requests, the team undertook a two-phase process: (1) cost-benefit model design phase and (2) field-testing and model refinement phase. The team built a specific model to estimate the economic and social benefits of these projects, adapting the tools as appropriate for a localized study of several villages in the region surrounding Ambositra, Madagascar.