TURNING THE TAP FOR HEALTH & GROWTH IN MALAWI
Provision of safe drinking water and modern sanitation is critically important not only for healthcare but also for wealth creation. In 2022, the OPEC Fund provided US$15 million to water & sanitation in partner countries worldwide.
Despite being one of the least developed countries in the world, with over half the population living below the poverty line, Malawi manages to provide safe drinking water to almost 90 percent of its people. Yet demand for safe drinking water, as well as modern sanitation, remains unmet in several parts of the country, including Dowa District — just 50 km north of the capital, Lilongwe. Present capacity meets less than 25 percent of demand because of dilapidated infrastructure and the rising needs of the Dzaleka camp, home to more than 45,000 refugees, from Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Meeting daily demand is just half the story, however. Like many of its neighbors in southeast Africa, Malawi’s growth and development strategy sees infrastructure as key to economic prosperity, and highlights water as a cross-cutting issue. The government has therefore made it a priority to im- prove and increase supply of potable water and sanitation services to urban and rural communities.
Apart from the public health benefits of improved sanitation, the Dowa Town Water Supply Project will have other positive impacts due to its technical de- sign. The selective replacement of older and smaller pipelines will benefit the environment as it will avoid leakages, while ensuring more efficient use and delivery. The project will also provide jobs to both genders during the construction and operational phases — a fact of particular significance to women and vulnerable groups who will enjoy improved opportunities and living standards given their greater access to potable water.
JOHN MAKWENDA CEO, Central Region Water Board, Malawi
Despite progress access to drinking water in Malawi remains highly uneven.
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