Guardian journalist Claire Provost has drawn attention to the need for investment in CoST if its benefits are to be
extended to the new countries that are keen to join. Writing for The Guardian online she points out that: “CoST’s only source of income is a grant of $1.5m from the World Bank over three years, ending in December 2014. Some of CoST’s national programmes have found separate funding, but this is limited.”

Commenting on the article, CoST Executive Director Petter Matthews said: “there appears to be a disparity between the demand from new countries wishing to join CoST on the one hand, and the willingness of donors to invest the resources that are needed to meet that demand on the other. However, we remain optimistic about the future of the programme. CoST Ethiopia recently saved $3.7 on a single project and that is the type of impact that donors are looking for.” The article can be read here.