The Western and Central Africa has oneof the longest experiences with public-private partnerships(PPPs) in the developing world, both for water supply andfor combined power and water supply utilities. Coted'Ivoire has a successful partnership dating from 1959,and over the last two decades as many as 15 countries (outof 23 in the region) have experimented with PPPs: eight forwater supply operations alone and seven for combined powerand water supply operations. This discussion paper documentsthe region's experience with PPPs for urban watersupply in a comprehensive manner to help inform the currentdebate about the benefits brought by PPPs, in the context ofhelping Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goals(MDG). Eleven PPPs have been studied, and detailedperformance indicators are reported for six large cases -Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, andGabon, with at least four years of private operation.Through its successes and failures, the Western and CentralAfrican experience offers interesting lessons that otherdeveloping countries could reflect upon as they strive toimprove the quality of urban water supply services, increasethe efficiency of operations, and establish the financialcredibility of the sector.