Niger WASH accounts analysis: Key findings and recommendations for WASH experts

Published on: 27/11/2025

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A recent analysis of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) financial accounts in Niger for the years 2021 and 2022, led by the Ministry of Hydraulics, Sanitation, and the Environment, provides critical insights into sector financing and progress towards national and international goals. The initiative was supported by IRC Sahel. This article summarises the key findings and recommendations from this exercise, specifically for experts in the WASH sector.

Overview of the WASH Accounts Analysis Exercise

The primary objective of the Niger WASH accounts analysis was to create a comprehensive overview of sector expenditure during the specified period. This included:

• determining the overall annual expenditure in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector,
• identifying the contributions of various stakeholders to sector financing,
• assessing the country's adherence to national and international commitments, and
• characterising the nature and amount of the different funding sources.

The scope of the WASH accounts included water supply (urban, rural, and pastoral), hygiene (handwashing facilities, menstrual hygiene kits, awareness campaigns), basic sanitation (latrine facilities), support services, and emergency interventions (water supply, basic sanitation, and hygiene in emergency contexts).

Key findings

The analysis of the WASH accounts revealed several critical points. Sector expenditure averaged 170 billion FCFA (approximately US$ 300 million) per year, equating to about US$ 12 per capita or 1.9% of GDP. This figure is significantly lower than the health sector expenditure, which amounts to 5% of GDP, and experienced a 6% decrease between 2021 and 2022. This level of funding is insufficient to meet sector goals outlined in the Programme Sectoriel Eau Hygiène et Assainissement (PROSEHA), which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Further analysis showed a significant imbalance in expenditure across different services:

• 65% allocated to water supply,
• 31% to hygiene,
• only 1% to sanitation.

This disparity is largely due to user contributions to water and hygiene through tariffs and purchases, highlighting a critical challenge in achieving sanitation targets.

The primary contributors to sector financing are:

• Users, accounting for over 65% of expenditure through tariffs (40% of total expenditure) and self-supply initiatives.
• Donors are the second largest contributors, providing up to 32% of the total through grants and loans, though their contribution decreased significantly in 2022.
• Government contributes an average of 6% (these are national public transfers excluding repayable loans).
• NGOs and community organizations play a role primarily in implementation rather than direct financing.

In terms of international commitments, the N’gor commitment of allocating at least 0.5% of GDP to hygiene and sanitation was met in 2021 (0.54%) due to household contributions. However, it was not achieved in 2022 (0.48%). Furthermore, the government did not meet the target of allocating 5% of the national budget to WASH, with only 3.5% allocated in 2022.

These financial limitations result in a significant gap between the financial needs of PROSEHA and actual expenditure, particularly for sanitation and hygiene, which have an average funding deficit of 92%. Overall, PROSEHA objectives were 32.65% covered in 2021 and only 22.39% in 2022.

Key recommendations

Based on the findings of the analysis of the WASH accounts, five key recommendations are made for the WASH sector in Niger:

1. Findings of the WASH accounts analysis should be disseminated and utilized to inform sector policy dialogues, including sector reviews, budget discussions, and coordination frameworks between the government and technical and financial partners.
2. Efforts should be strengthened to mobilize domestic financing for the WASH sector, allocating a share of the national budget in line with national and international commitments, particularly the 5% target.
3. Acceleration of resource mobilization to align with sector targets and the funding needs of PROSEHA, as well as the Ngor commitment.
4. Funding allocation should be improved to ensure a better distribution of financing among the different sub-sectors, with a particular focus on sanitation.
5. Collection, analysis, and collective consideration of sector expenditure should be institutionalized in sector dialogues, involving all sector stakeholders.

Implications for Experts

These findings and recommendations have several implications for WASH sector experts:

• Data from the WASH accounts provide a solid basis for making the case for increased investment, particularly in sanitation.
• Experts should use these results to inform policy discussions and promote better alignment of resources with sector priorities.
• It is essential to explore innovative financing mechanisms to bridge the budget gap, particularly for sanitation and hygiene.
• The institutionalization of WASH accounts will enable better evaluation and monitoring of sector performance, facilitating evidence-based decision-making.

By addressing these challenges and implementing the recommendations, Niger can make significant progress towards achieving its WASH goals and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The WASH accounts analysis report is available here.