Since 1999 WaterAid has been helping some of Malawi's poorest communities to gain access to safe, sustainable water supplies, sanitation and hygiene education. 

At first glance, the statistics show Malawi has relatively good supply and sanitation coverage (76% and 60% respectively) in comparison to many other African countries.  But these figures are erroneously high, as the definition for safe access is confused and the statistics include many broken facilities.

WaterAid is involved in an ongoing water point mapping project which currently estimates that only 57% of the rural population has access to safe water in comparison to 90% in urban areas.  Access to sanitation is considerably lower with only 15% - 30% of the rural population having access to a latrine.

The reality of this is that preventable water-related diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, are rife, contributing to one of the world's highest infant mortality rates and lowest life expectancies. 

Achievements to date

• Revived old approaches to composting latrines and developed social marketing programs to encourage take-up.
  
• Begun rehabilitating existing piped water systems in Machinga District. One scheme provides nearly 15,000  people with access to a safe water supply
• Facilitated the construction of over 200 hand-dug wells in the Salima District, bringing safe water to 26,000 people
• Initiated the water point mapping project in 2002 to determine the equity of distribution of water services in rural communities.  This project is vital if the UN's Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people without sanitation by 2015 is to be met.  So far, 24 out of 28 Malawi's districts have been mapped and the scheme has received national and international interest
• Developed sustainable systems for managing water kiosks in the low income areas of Lilongwe City

Hawa Salimua returns home with safe, clean water from a WaterAid funded well in the Salima District. Credit: WaterAid/Jon Spaull

With nearly 85% of Malawi's population living in rural ares, WaterAid focusses on four main areas - Salima, Machinga, Mzimba, and Nkhotakota.  We are currently involved with one urban project in the capital city Lilongwe.

WaterAid works in partnership with district governments, a local non governmental organization (NGO), a church based organization and a public water utility company. Occasionally we also work with small scale private service providers.

Our work in Malawi concentrates on rehabilitating existing water systems rather than building new ones. We help communities to set up water and sanitation committees which have ongoing  responsibility of water projects.

In all projects these committees take the lead in planning, coordinating and monitoring the rehabilitation work.  All community members contribute towards the ongoing running and maintenance costs.

This approach provides villagers with ownership of the systems and, after training, the necessary skills to ensure the systems work in the long term.  Substainabily is an essentail requirement for all WaterAid projects. 

In order to ensure communities gain the maximum health benefits associated with clean, safe water our partners help communities to construct latrines and learn about good hygiene practices alongside water projects.

A variety of latrine designs is being promoted to enable communities to pick one that best suits their needs and resources. 

One innovative approach is encouraging the construction of composting latrines in which human waste is mixed with soil and ash to form a rich compost. As the vast majority of rural Malawians derive their livelihoods from agriculture, the impact on livelihoods of this initiative is significant.

Download WaterAid's Malawi information sheet (PDF 312KB)

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