The Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 strengthens the United States Government commitment to enabling access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries, and supports achievement of Target 10 of the UN Millennium Development Goals to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015.

In Asia, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implements regional water and sanitation activities through the Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) Water and Sanitation Program. ECO-Asia develops and implements pilot projects that demonstrate innovative strategies for expanding, improving and financing water services delivery in Asia. One program focus is to develop innovative models that address technical, institutional and financial constraints to expanding water services to the urban poor.

Strategic Focus Areas

Through pilot projects and regional activities, ECO-Asia demonstrates and disseminates innovative policies and practices for expanding or improving water and sanitation services. Strategic focus areas for ECO-Asia water and sanitation program include:

• Enabling Water Services Delivery to the Urban Poor
• Demonstrating Sustainable Sanitation Solutions
• Enabling Access to Finance for Water Services
• Improving Performance of Water Services Utilities

Regional Platforms

To share best practices and findings on sustainable water and sanitation services, ECO-Asia prepares regional toolkits, and organizes specialized training, as well as disseminates best proctices through knowledge management systems.