For an overview of transfers available for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects or businesses in developing countries see [[Transfers available for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)]].
Transfers can be made in the form ofa:* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_(money) Grant]; , non-repayable funds disbursed by one party (grant makers), often a government department, corporation, foundation or trust, to a recipient. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal or an application is usually required. Most grants are made to fund a specific project and require some level of compliance and reporting.* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loan Loan]; , the borrower initially receives or borrows an amount of money from the lender, and is obligated to pay back or repay an equal amount of money to the lender at a later time. Most commonly used loans in the water and sanitation sector are:** [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concessionary_loan Concessionary loan]; , is a loan bearing no interest or a rate of interest that is below the average cost. ** [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit Microcredit] , is a very small loan extended by a bank or other financial organisations that provide services to poor households (Saywell and Fonseca, 2006).* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surety Guarantee]; , a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. The person or company that provides this promise, is also known as a surety or guarantor.
In many developing countries, transfers remain a major source of financing for sanitation and drinking-water, mostly for [[Capital_Expenditure_(CapEx)|capital expenditure]] (WHO and UN-Water, 2012). Over US$ 8.9 billion in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_development_assistance official development assistance (ODA)], part of transfers, was directed to sanitation and drinking-water in 2009 ((WHO and UN-Water, 2012). Official development assistance for sanitation and drinking-water accounts for more than 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in seven developing countries (see table 1).