In 1999, Uganda had achieved a national teledensity (fixed and mobile) of about one telephone per 100 inhabitants, slightly above the average for Sub- Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa). But with most phone lines concentrated in the Kampala area, rural teledensity was far lower. Indeed, only 380 of the 920 subcounties in Uganda were expected to have any kind of telephone service by 2001. Internet services, still in their infancy, also were limited to Kampala. In the planning stages at around that time, a new World Bank project was designed in part to address this situation.

Performance-based contracting in health is an example of an output-based approach to improving health service delivery. In 2003 and 2004, GPOBA supported the design of three output-based aid (OBA) schemes using performance-based contracting in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. GPOBA’s technical assistance has led to three innovative projects funded by the World Bank and the Canadian International Development Agency. This note reviews early lessons from these schemes.

In Uganda small private companies have been operating water supply systems since 2001. A pilot output-based aid (OBA) project is expanding this approach. The project is leveraging private sector finance and expertise to provide access to piped water for an estimated 45,000 people in small towns and rural growth centers while increasing efficiency and accountability in the use of funds.

About 8,100 people have benefited so far, and the government is exploring the use of OBA approaches as part of its national framework for water supply.

En Ouganda, de petites entreprises privées exploitent les réseaux d’approvisionnement en eau depuis 2001. Un projet pilote d’aide basée sur les résultats (OBA) s’efforce de développer cette approche. Il mobilise les financements et les compétences du secteur privé pour permettre à environ 45 000 personnes d’accéder aux réseaux d’adduction d’eau dans de petites localités et des pôles de croissance ruraux tout en encourageant une utilisation plus efficiente et plus responsable des fonds.

In small towns and rural areas of Uganda, where 90 percent of the population lives, water shortages are part of daily life. In these areas, 60 percent of the population lacks access to safe water, and water borne diseases and infant mortality are widespread. To help the Ugandan government achieve greater efficiency and improve access to water through public-private partnerships (PPP), IFC signed a mandate to implement the Uganda Small Scale Infrastructure Provider (SSIP) Water Program in 2007.

According to a 2003 study, about 435 women die per 100,000 live births in Uganda because of lack of access to health service facilities and professional health care. The loss of a mother can shatter a family and threaten the well-being of surviving children.