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A study into rural water supply sustainability in Niassa province, Mozambique

Author(s): Jansz, Shamila

Publisher: WaterAid
Year: 2011

Links:

• http://www.wateraid.org/documents/plugin.....study_mozambique.pdf

Executive summary

WaterAid?s vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. This

resonates with Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG 7) which has the target ?to reduce by half

the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

by 2015?. The achievement of this goal is on track, but rural areas in developing countries across

the world remain severely disadvantaged, with eight out of ten people not having access to an

improved water supply. The challenge of rural water supply sustainability is widely recognised

but is jeopardising the achievement of this MDG goal and WaterAid?s mission. For example, only

two out of three handpumps installed in developing countries are working at any given time

(RWSN, 2010). In recognition of these challenges and a desire to ensure services continue to last

over time,WaterAid in Mozambique undertook a study into rural water supply sustainability in

Niassa Province, Mozambique in August 2010.

Niassa province was chosen as a focus because of WaterAid in Mozambique?s 15 years of

experience in rural water supply service provision in the area. Sustainability of rural water supply

relates to whether or not these services last over time (Carter, 2010) and is affected by numerous

factors ranging from spare parts availability to effective community management models to

finance for operation and maintenance and external support. These factors were compared with

the National Water Policy of Mozambique (2007) to understand how the policy framework of

rural water in the country deals with the issue of sustainability. Strong overlaps and correspondence

between the policy and key sustainability factors suggested in the literature review highlighted

the theoretical effectiveness of the policy, yet questioned how far it was being put into practice.

A qualitative methodology involving semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders was

chosen for this study. Two types of information were gathered to gain a full picture of sustaining

services over time: interviews were held with communities and their water committees to

understand the realities of maintaining services on the ground and interviews were held with

government representatives in the District Departments of Planning and Infrastructure Services,

coordinators of local NGO partners and WaterAid staff working in the province, to explore which

factors they felt were important for achieving sustainability based on their experiences in the

field. Bringing these two streams of information together exposed the key factors that influence

rural water supply sustainability in the area.

Key factors from the findings came under four main areas: policy, capacity, community

management models and external support. The case for improved implementation of the national

Water Policy was an important issue as, despite its strong and effective nature, it was clear that it

had been inconsistently applied. Other important factors included dissemination of the policy,

implementation of a Demand Responsive Approach, effective planning, sector coordination, spare

parts availability and clarity on the definition of capital costs. However, for all of these factors to

be effectively implemented it was argued that they need to be combined with strong and effective

capacity of all stakeholders involved in rural water supply service provision. Partner (local NGOs

Contents

4 A study into rural water supply sustainability in Niassa province, Mozambique

Executive summary

and local government) capacity, defined as knowledge, skills, practices, physical

resources and improved community education work (PEC), needed to improve.

Effective policy implementation and strong capacity will impact on community

management models, including improved water committee capacity and profile. The

findings also emphasised that these developments must be accompanied by constant

external hardware and software support if services are to last over time.

This research study argues that all of the factors outlined above must be viewed

together as the sum parts of one solution to rural water supply sustainability. The

need to improve one factor against another will vary depending on context yet, for the

challenges to be overcome, there is no one factor that should be addressed alone ? all

need to be considered collectively to ensure services last over time. These findings are

presented in a conceptual framework that can be used by others in the WASH sector

as an entry point to investigate how to overcome the challenges of rural water supply

sustainability in their respective programmes and projects. If services are to continue

to serve the world?s poorest over time, it is fundamental that the approaches taken

and measures put into place for rural water supply service provision are sustainable.

Keywords:
Capacity development  |  Community management  |  Costs  |  Mozambique  |  Niassa Province  |  Policies  |  Rural water supply  |  Sustainability  |  www