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Water provision for the poor: how ideology muddles the debate
OCCASIONAL PAPER
Even though private water provision sees clean and safe water delivered to millions around the world, many politicians and NGOs remain irrationally opposed to the idea that profit should be made from "essential resources" like water. This mindset is actively hindering universal access to water, and with it the achievement of several Millennium Development Goals.
The truth is that many public utilities in less-developed countries suffer from endemic corruption and rarely deliver services equitably - even refusing to recognise and connect slum-dwellers. Meanwhile, it is the private sector - from individual water porters to larger companies - that fill in the gaps left by dysfunctional state utilities.