WAPONET seeks to promote delivery of water services for poverty alleviation, and thus addresses the issues of equity and non-discrimination in a cross-cutting way.

An essential condition for equity-oriented planning is to prevent the most vulnerable from being overlooked in the process of access to basic services or improving the service level. In the end, the neediest segments of the population should become the primary recipients of policy attention and public resources. Within this context, the network seeks to reach the poor and meet their multifaceted needs.

WAPONET also seeks to support the achievement of internationally agreed water-related goals and norms, particularly in the context of the post-2015 development framework. Specifically, the conceptual frame that guides WAPONET is based on two clear foundations: the Sustainable Development Goals as defined in “Transforming Our World – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”; and the Human Rights to (affordable) water and sanitation.