PPIAF’s technical assistance to governments improves access to and the quality of infrastructure services. PPIAF’s work has an inherent gender dimension because women carry a greater burden of poor infrastructure services. According to the World Bank, socio-cultural and economic factors, such as heavy domestic workloads, cause women to be more adversely affected by poor access to infrastructure. Conversely, projects that target women have a positive multiplier effect on development because women spend a larger portion of their income than men on family welfare and education.
Women in rural and peri-urban areas often benefit the most from improvements, as poor infrastructure limits their ability to undertake income-generating activities outside the home. As part of its Work Program, PPIAF is targeting underserved populations in rural and urban areas through its Universal Access and Urbanization pillars. By helping governments address the infrastructure needs of rapid urbanization, PPIAF activities also deal with concerns such as women’s safety, e.g., through improvements in public lighting and transportation. Finally, activities that improve conditions in sectors where women and children are a significant portion of the labor force also have a positive impact on their welfare.
Read more about PPIAF and gender in the Gender Impact of PPIAF's Work (pdf).
Meeting Water Needs in Vietnam
In 2002 PPIAF provided technical assistance for a water connectivity pilot project in Vietnam. Household connections increased significantly in the two participating towns and the private operators reported that women were driving the increase in water consumption. Local services also benefited, providing additional welfare improvements for women and children. PPIAF’s assistance mobilized support from other donors, which led to the establishment of a fund for investments in household sanitation facilities. Read the more about the activity in this gridline.
The Informal Recycling Sector in Developing Countries
PPIAF has supported several activities in the solid waste management sector, including an assessment of waste management in Egypt, awaste management project in Djibouti, and a toolkit for public-private partnerships in solid waste management in India. This gridline examines efforts to organize and support waste pickers, which increases their income and has a greater impact on poverty reduction. It discusses a number of ways to improve working conditions for waste pickers, including organizing informal workers into cooperatives and building support with local governments. To read more, click here.
Access and Affordability Issues Affect Women and Girls Disproportionately
It is clear that infrastructure development helps women in particular, both as consumers and participants in development. While the hopes of some straightforward progress to remunerated work for women do not seem to be borne out in quantifiable, ‘linear’ fashion, there are very positive welfare developments in the short-term, which could well translate into economic gains in the longer term as female education is enabled. For women to benefit, programs do not have to carry a ‘women’s welfare’ label. When women do benefit, the whole family benefits, and the consequent improvements to girls’ education carries this forward in a virtuous circle, set in motion by better access to basic services and greater recognition of women’s role in their provision.