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Household water quality in rural Zambia
01.07.1989
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Measuring sustainability in the water sector
01.07.1993
Most methods of monitoring new water supplies, where they exist at all, rely on sophisticated indicators and, usually, on outsiders. Why not accept that if a community is making the effort to keep the supply working, then it must be a success? -
At a price? The truth about community construction
01.10.1999
Do communities have to be involved in construction work, to feel a sense of ownership? Sally Sutton argues that careful programme software design, appropriate hardware selection, and sensible training can bring about cost-effective and sustainable water and sanitation solutions. -
The Plastic Revolution?
01.10.2000
Cheap, durable sealed water carrying devices have become available all over Africa in the last few years. What are the implications of this change for rural Zambia? -
Self-supply in Mali
01.07.2006
Although a long way off achieving the water-supply MDG through communal sources, Mali has a well-established tradition of people solving their own water-supply problems by using traditional wells. A survey reveals that improved wells are often preferred to borewells, and that the quality of the water is often good. -
Trends in sub-Saharan rural water supply and the essential inclusion of Self-supply to achieve 2030 SDG targets
01.10.2017
The number of people in sub-Saharan Africa depending on unimproved water sources has not decreased over the past 25 years. Rates of progress in coverage over this period are far below those required to achieve universal access by 2030. Examination of some of the characteristics of the unserved population show major challenges to funding as well as to necessary rates of construction. Community water supply (CWS) as a sole solution is shown to be unable to solve the problem. The growth of self-financed water supplies (Self-supply) is, or could be, filling the gaps public supplies leave. Enhancing support services in the public and private sectors to improve the safety and performance of Self-supply is shown, with examples, to be a cost-effective additional strategy, which can largely, with government support, be integrated into existing services. Including Self-supply support into rural water strategies can very significantly reduce the cost of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 of basic services for all. Without its inclusion this goal is very unlikely to be reached in sub-Saharan Africa. -
Transferring the rope pump to Africa: A long and winding road?
01.04.2009
Why is a proven, simple technology which offers major economic advantages apparently finding some difficulty in gaining a foothold in Africa? Could it be too cheap for donors and too expensive for users? If the answers were simple, we would either have mushrooming production or complete abandonment. It may just be that as a 'new kid on the block', requiring new ways of thinking and new policies, the transfer process will take longer than expected. This paper explores some of the undoubted advantages which have convinced so many that its adoption has major benefits which should not be ignored. However it also examines some of the weaknesses and uncertainties which may be hindering acceptance of the pump by donors, governments and end-users. Addressing these weaknesses is essential if the pump is to fulfil any real potential to contribute to MDG (Millennium Development Goal) targets for water, health and poverty alleviation.