Challenge

In 2016, Côte d’Ivoire was emerging from a decade of political instability, following successive crises between 1999 and 2011 that weakened public services, infrastructure investment, and institutional capacity. During this period, investments in water supply slowed and focused mainly on the economic capital, Abidjan; urban centers faced water shortages; the quality of services fell; and frontline institutions lost operational and technical capacity.

The portion of the population served dropped by 15 percentage points between 2000 and 2011. Sanitation infrastructure was severely underdeveloped, and planning and monitoring capacities were limited. Strong economic recovery thereafter, with rapid GDP growth, heightened public expectations for improved living conditions and social stability.

Solution

A defining feature of the Bank’s approach was its integrated focus on infrastructure delivery and institutional reform. Beyond physical investments, the project strengthened the national water utility (ONEP)’s financial planning and decision-making capacity, introduced data and analytical tools to support evidence-based sector governance, and advanced a broader reform dialogue. ONEP benefitted from a South-South knowledge exchange with Tunisia's water utility on non-revenue water, which aimed to reduce water losses in the distribution system as well as commercial losses from faulty meters or erroneous billing. Social Connection campaigns facilitated household outreach, application processing, and installation of subsidized connections.

The project carried out several studies related to water resources on the vulnerability of the Abidjan aquifer to lagoon sand extraction activities, and a study of raw water quality of 36 water reservoirs of dams intended for drinking water supply. The insights from these studies fed into the subsequent multiphase programmatic approach program (MPA) for water security and sanitation in Côte d'Ivoire, which has several activities related to water quality monitoring especially for dams. In addition, the project funded an SDG Strategy which formed the basis of the design of the MPA. The Bank supported analytics and capacity building through trust funds, which addressed critical institutional, governance and knowledge gaps, complementing infrastructure investments and contributing materially to the project’s development outcomes.

The operation laid the groundwork for a more coordinated WBG approach by combining financing, analytics, and institutional strengthening, generating reforms and investment frameworks that enable future collaboration, including private sector participation. Aligned with the Water Forward agenda, it promotes integrated solutions, stronger institutions, and financing mobilization, while establishing the basis for a more programmatic and scalable WBG engagement in Côte d’Ivoire’s water sector.

Results

Exceeding beneficiary targets: The Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project provided almost 2 million people with new access to improved water supply through professionally managed piped water services. Women and girls accounted for approximately 50 percent of beneficiaries, reflecting strong gender inclusion outcomes. The achievement was driven by a combination of infrastructure that outperformed its design reach, increased household demand, an effective social connections program that reached 49,000 households through NGOs, and strong project implementation arrangements.

• Improved service quality: An additional 1.5 million people benefited from enhanced water supply services following the commissioning of new and rehabilitated treatment plants in Korhogho, Ferkéssédougou, Abongoua, N'Douci, Sinématiali, Bingerville, Tiassalé, Agboville, Béoumi, and Issia. Consequently, the rate of satisfaction with water services increased from a baseline of 37 percent to 90 percent, surpassing the target of 80 percent.
• Improved school sanitation: The project provided access to improved sanitation to almost 100,000 students, 43 percent of whom were girls who were provided with menstrual hygiene management. Stalls were also reserved for people with reduced mobility and toilet blocks were separated by gender. The construction of toilet blocks reserved for teachers was included across 267 schools and 50 health centers, exceeding the original targets. Cleaning equipment and products were also provided to schools and health centers for the maintenance of latrine blocks.
• Strengthened sector institutions: Sector planning and governance were reinforced through the operationalization of a financial model, installation of 35 hydrological monitoring stations, approval of seven sanitation and drainage master plans, completion of key audits, and substantial strengthening of ONEP’s planning and financial management capacity.

Moving Forward

The World Bank Group’s continued engagement in Côte d’Ivoire’s water and sanitation sector is anchored in the Côte d’Ivoire Water Security and Sanitation Support Program (PASEA, P177118), approved on May 24, 2024. PASEA represents the first phase of an US$825 million Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach, with Phase I financed by a US$250 million IDA credit through 2030. The Implementation Completion Results Report (ICR) for P156739 confirms that the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project laid critical foundations for this follow-on program, including the sector financial model, institutional strengthening, and governance reforms. PASEA is aligned with the National Development Plan (2021–2025), the Water Security Strategy, and SDG 6, and directly addresses remaining gaps in water resources management, service expansion, sanitation scale-up, institutional reform, financial sustainability, and climate resilience.