18 December 2012: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) have partnered to launch the Selling Sanitation initiative, a joint project supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to improve access to more affordable sanitation solutions for low-income families in East Africa.

The Selling Sanitation Initiative plans to assist regional manufacturing firms to deliver low-cost sanitation products to consumer markets, starting with a pilot project in Kenya. The Initiative is part of IFC’s Sanitation and Safe Water for All programme. According to IFC, over two-thirds of the Kenyan population lacks access to improved sanitation and over 17,000 children under five dies every year from diseases related to poor water quality and hygiene.

The partnership will work in cooperation with regional government counterparts, such as the Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, to improve enabling conditions to the sanitation market. The objective is to lower market barriers, attract investment and stimulate innovation by better understanding consumer needs at the base of the pyramid. It also envisages to improve rural distribution mechanisms and to outreach consumers who fully lack access to sanitation facilities. [IFC Press Release]