FCAS Programmes
These initiatives are directly financed by the Water Fund using funds provided by the State Secretariat for International Cooperation. In most cases, they are co-financed by partner countries, with the level of counterpart funding determined by national capacity. In certain instances, such as for heavily indebted countries, no counterpart funding is required. The programmes are structured as follows:
- Bilateral Programmes In this category, funding is provided directly by the FCAS to the recipient country. As of December 2024, a total of 70 programmes fall within this category, accounting for 51.49% of the overall FCAS portfolio and representing 78% of all initiatives launched. Of these, 47 operations have been completed, 18 remain under implementation, and five are currently in the design phase. Since 2008, these bilateral initiatives have received cumulative funding of €420.182 million.
- Bi-Multilateral Programmes These programmes are financed by the FCAS and implemented by the recipient countries in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Internally, they are referred to as multilateral programmes (designated with an “M” throughout this Report). As of December 2024, a total of 19 such programmes have been delivered, all of which have now been completed, representing 48.50% of the Fund’s total grant portfolio. Ongoing collaboration with the IDB is maintained through the execution of various technical cooperation initiatives. These are targeted, specialised interventions, which, unlike the main programmes, are implemented directly by the IDB. Their purpose is to address specific technical challenges within the programmes and contribute to their long-term sustainability. As part of these efforts, targeted diagnostics have been undertaken across four thematic areas: rural water access, indigenous peoples, gender, and integrated water resources management (IWRM). In addition, ex-post evaluations have been carried out for programmes in Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, accompanied by significant communication and knowledge management activities in coordination with Spanish Cooperation.
Up to 31 December 2024, the FCAS Executive Committee has approved a total of 17 technical cooperation initiatives. Of these, three were completed in 2023, while 11 were under implementation during 2024, with five of those completed this year. A further three are scheduled to commence shortly. Altogether, these initiatives have required a disbursement of €8.6 million, drawn from the funds initially allocated by the FCAS for collaboration with the IDB. In parallel, a Professional Exchange Programme remains in place, facilitating staff placements to strengthen coordination and oversight of programme implementation.

