PAF: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Report

By Jeff Glenn, Monica Kwok, and Zhihan Ma.

This is the Executive Summary of the final report from a Philanthropy Advisory Fellowship project on identifying innovative organizations in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) space. The full report (redacted for client confidentiality) is available here. This research was conducted on behalf of PAF client Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.

WaSH Market Analysis

Summary of Recommendations

• Water
  • One example of a good Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) organization is PotaVida, which has a two-fold mission to provide SODIS technology and to track its effectiveness and usage  through cloud data.
  • We want to avoid water conservation interventions such as eco-friendly shower technology and leak monitors, because for-profit organizations are already in this space and it is more of a priority to provide safe drinking water to those who lack proper sources.
  • Although there are many intervention types when it comes to disinfecting drinking water, not all of them are suitable for low-income, rural, or nomadic populations. One intervention that translates well to these populations is SODIS. 
• Sanitation
  • Among the many approaches through which non-profit organizations can improve sanitation outcomes, building low-cost sanitation facilities attracts the most amount of innovation and is sometimes under-funded. In addition, there is scientific research comparing the cost-effectiveness of different sanitation facilities, making evidence-based funding possible.
  • One example is Toilets for People (TFP), an early stage organization aiming to build low-cost, composting toilets in developing countries. TFP’s business model is scalable and the organization is currently under-funded, preventing it from reaching its full potential.
  • This research also identifies other promising organizations which focus on education, financing, and waste management, although many of which are well-established and have received significant funding.
• Hygiene
  • The handwashing space is highly saturated by large aid organizations and private sector partners. Sustainable and scalable integrated behavioral change interventions initiated by entrepreneurs are rare.
  • There are dozens of innovative menstrual hygiene management (MHM) organizations but there is a gap in organizations that have taken their interventions to scale. 
  • There is an opportunity to have an impact by identifying early stage MHM organizations that have the potential for scale.

The full report is available here.