Malawi: Water Demand Management to Mitigate Water Shortages
Country
Malawi
Location
Mzuzu, Northern Region
Sector
Water
Environment
Project budget
€ 2,641,746 (FDW contribution = € 1,300,000)
Partners
Plan Nederland
Vitens Evides International
Northern Region Water Board
Mzuzu City Council
Project description
Mzuzu is located in the north of Malawi and is Malawi's third town. It is a rapidly growing city. About 50% of the population lives in informal settlements. Problems faced are limited provision of water and sanitation (WASH) services. The Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) is mandated to provide drinking water, but can only provide this service to 68% of the population. The responsibility for providing sanitation services shifted from the Mzuzu City Council (MCC) to the NRWB, but transfer of duties, personnel and funding is not carried out yet. While septic tanks are used by 20% of the population, around 80% of the population in Mzuzu still uses poorly constructed and shared pit latrines that pollute ground water. The NRWB and MCC lack capacity and coordination to improve access to WASH services in Mzuzu, but realise that this is urgently required, considering the growing demand for water and recurring water scarcity. The NRWB and MCC join forces with VEI and Plan to sustainably increase the financial, technical and managerial capacity of the NRWB and MCC to: (1) increase water efficiency, (2) reduce ground water pollution and (3) increase coverage of WASH services to low-income households.