A/HRC/30/39 limited numbers of people to low-cost interventions that provide services to more people, particularly those who most need assistance. 33 50. One option is seeking to develop truly universal systems that include everyone. Any such universal system for distributing public finance would include people who do not need such funding to access services. This raises questions in terms of the most appropriate use of available resources. Yet this needs to be carefully balanced against the risk of being under-inclusive and leaving out parts of populations that do rely on subsidies to ensure the affordability of services. Any type of targeting risks not reaching the people who are most in need. As a general principle, from the perspective of human rights, unintended exclusion is far more serious than unintended inclusion. 51. Research suggests that some governments have succeeded in effectively using public funding for increasing access to sanitation. For instance, Thailand achieved nearly universal access to sanitation in the late 1990s due to sustained funding over decades based on a comprehensive programme. The Government has provided subsidies through revolving funds as well as funding for specific activities, with villages having flexibility in allocating funds to those most in need. 34 52. Recent projects in Dar es Salaam (United Republic of Tanzania), Blantyre (Malawi), Chinhoyi (Zimbabwe) and Kitwe (Zambia) driven by slum or shack dweller federations seek to develop citywide sanitation provision in situations where households can only afford $3-$4 per month. They look into choices for low-income households, loan financing and the crucial role of engagement with local authorities from the outset.35 53. Where States choose to adopt universal systems for subsidizing service provision, they need to ensure that these are truly universal rather than reaching only as far as networked provision does. Financing for universal access, and indeed the universal realization of human rights, does not necessarily require one universal system. On the contrary, in many countries it will mean additional approaches that are targeted to reach people beyond utility networks. C. Challenges in targeting 54. Where States adopt targeted measures, this also poses challenges. In practice, unfortunately, such measures often fail to reach the target population for a variety of reasons, including: (a) support; Target groups are not informed of the availability of subsidies or financial (b) There is excessive paperwork or a requirement for specific pieces of documentation that low-income or marginalized people may not have; (c) 33 34 35 14 The target groups are not involved in the design of the mechanism; See Kavita Wankhade, “Urban sanitation in India: key shifts in the national policy frame”, Environment and Urbanization, vol. 27, No. 2 (2015), pp. 1-18. WaterAid and Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity, “Evaluating the effectiveness of public finance for sanitation: A synthesis report”, 2013, pp. 6-7, available from http://www.wateraid.org/what-we-do/our-approach/research-and-publications/viewpublication?id=a2a29c88-b69b-46b0-8578-b0fb80ac6ae6. Evans Banana and others, “Sharing reflections on inclusive sanitation”, Environment & Urbanization vol. 27(1) (2015), pp. 19–34.