“It is the policy of the United States—“(1) to increase the percentage of water and sanitation assistance targeted toward countries designated as high priority countries under section 6(f) of this Act;
“(2) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance reflect an appropriate balance of grants, loans, contracts, investment insurance, loan guarantees, and other assistance to further ensure affordability and equity in the provision of access to safe water and sanitation for the very poor;
“(3) to ensure that the targeting of water and sanitation assistance reflect an appropriate balance between urban, periurban, and rural areas to meet the purposes of assistance described in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [this section], as added by section 5(a) of this Act;
“(4) to ensure that forms of water and sanitation assistance provided reflect the level of existing resources and markets for investment in water and sanitation within recipient countries;
“(5) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance, to the extent possible, supports the poverty reduction strategies of recipient countries and, when appropriate, encourages the inclusion of water and sanitation within such poverty reduction strategies;
“(6) to promote country and local ownership of safe water and sanitation programs, to the extent appropriate;
“(7) to promote community-based approaches in the provision of affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation, including the involvement of civil society;
“(8) to mobilize and leverage the financial and technical capacity of businesses, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society in the form of public-private alliances;
“(9) to encourage reforms and increase the capacity of foreign governments to formulate and implement policies that expand access to safe water and sanitation in an affordable, equitable, and sustainable manner, including integrated strategic planning; and
“(10) to protect the supply and availability of safe water through sound environmental management, including preventing the destruction and degradation of ecosystems and watersheds.
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