WSUP with Maputo

Mar 22nd, 2010 9:55 AM UTC
By Beth Adler

ONE just returned from a listening and learning trip to Senegal, Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya with members of our board and other supporters. ONE’s Beth Adler reflects on a water and sanitation public private partnership in Mozambique:

One of our days in hot and green Mozambique was spent welcoming some ONE delegation members to a water and sanitation site run by a public private partnership called Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) which includes ONE’s long-time partner CARE.

WSUP works in Maputo’s urban slums, called bairros, connecting families with the water network and building sanitation blocks to replace latrines. They also complement the physical infrastructure they install with health and hygiene in the bairro schools. The organization is a unique public-private partnership between private sector companies like Thames Water, Halcrow, and Unilever, NGOs like CARE, Water Aid, and WWF, and Cranfield University. A core component of WSUP’s operation is to working in close collaboration with local authorities, municipalities, and local service providers to provide sustainable solutions that will be used and maintained even once donors leave.

Our first stop was at the bairro’s standpipe—the current water provision mechanism. The standpipe is open for several hours each day and people line up with their jerry cans, sometimes for hours, to get water. When we visited, the line was comprised almost entirely of women and girls who after filling them would carry the jerry cans home on their heads. Our second stop was the home of a family who saved to pay for the installation of a water tap just outside their house. The mother explained that she was thrilled with the tap—it’s allowed her more time to purchase and market the vegetables she sells to earn her family income. Her family has also been able to sell some water to their neighbors, adding a source of income for them.

Walking through the unpaved, muddy streets of the bairro, it was clear that families live close together and there isn’t space in homes for personal sanitation facilities. We visited a latrine—shared by more than 30 families—which is typical of the sanitation situation in the bairros. A sanitation block is slated for installation soon, about which the community is very excited. We then saw a sanitation block in another part of the bairro. The block is a simple, concrete structure that takes about two months to construct. It has toilets as well as a water pipe and place for families to do laundry. The block is maintained by a committee of people in the community, and the water pipe is operated by a woman who draws an income from opening and closing the pipe each day and ensuring that the meter is paid so that residents can receive water.

The need for improved water and sanitation services in Maputo are severe and growing. The city is home to over 1 million residents and is growing at 6% annually. The water supply coverage from a conventional network is around 40%. The general coverage for sanitation is around 82%, and in the peri-urban areas there have been significant investments for the construction of improved latrines. Mozambique’s Government policy is to improve these conditions but it does not have the capacity without assistance.

The WSUP project in Maputo aims to improve the health and living standards of residents by providing sustainable access to potable water for 180,000 people and improved sanitation facilities for 100,000. Their hygiene programs also reach 11,000 children. Our bairro visit really opened our eyes to the challenges in the water and sanitation sector—and the opportunities. WSUP is making impressive progress talking this issue and it was a treat to see them in action!

TAGS: March 2010 Africa Trip, Mozambique, ONE, Water and Sanitation