MALAWI COUNTRY PROFILE Prepared for the 2012 Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting*

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1 * Determinant Sanitation Drinking-water Policy and institutions 5 4 Sufficient financing 5 5 Human resources 5 4 Aging infrastructure 4 4 Environmental quality 4 5 Regulation 3 4 Water quality 2 2 Water resources 2 1 Internal conflict /fragility 2 1 Climate change low impact, 5 - high impact Figure 1 - Determinants for sustaining achievements and progress Demographic and Economic Statistics Population (2010) a 15 million population (2010) a 12 million population (2010) a 3 million Annual average population growth ( ) a 3.0% Gross national income per capita (2009) b 760 Health Statistics Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2009) c 69 Under 5 mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2009) c 110 Healthy life expectancy at birth, male/female (2009) c 44/51 Number of deaths due to WASH related disease or injury (2004) d 32,946 Percentage of deaths due to WASH related disease or injury (2004) d 14.50% Sanitation and Drinking-water Statistics Use of improved sanitation (2008) e 56% Use of drinking-water from improved source (2008) e 80% (a) World Population Prospects, UN Population Division; (b) World Development Indicators, World Bank; (c) World Health Statistics, World Health Organization (WHO); (d) Safer Water, Better Health, WHO; (e) WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme Progress towards Millennium Development Goals Estimated year national sanitation target will be reached (year) 85% urban/70% rural Estimated year national drinking water target will be reached (year) (comments/targets) * Unless otherwise noted, the primary source of data for this profile is Malawi's response to the 2011 Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking- Water (GLAAS) questionnaire Page 1

2 Overview of Sanitation and Drinking-water status Overview of the Sector, Institutional capacity and Political Prioritization The Irrigation Water and Sanitation Sector is one of the key priority areas that the Government of Malawi has prioritized as the second key priority area under the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS). The long term goal under this sector is to ensure that water resources are well protected and managed to meet agricultural, domestic and industrial demands. The medium term expected outcomes for the sector, as stipulated in the MGDS, includes: increased agricultural land under irrigation, reduced dependence on rain-fed agriculture, basic water requirements of every Malawian are met while the country s natural ecosystem is enhanced, and increased access to water within half a kilometer distance. Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development is mandated to ensure the sustainable management, development and utilization of water resources for socio-economic growth and development. The Vision is Water and sanitation for all, always while the mission is geared towards managing and developing water resources for the sustainable, effective and efficient provision of potable water, sanitation and irrigation systems in support of Malawi s economic growth and development agenda. In order to fulfill its mandate and achieve the sectoral goals, the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development (MoAIWD) implements various programs throughout the country as a way of supporting the country s economic growth and development agenda. The Ministry carries out its various programmes through the following technical programmes: Water Resources, Water Supply, Irrigation Services, and Sanitation and Hygiene promotion among others. Implementation progress of targeted in the sector The Ministry s Key include Access to sustainable water supply and sanitation in rural, urban, peri -urban and market centres improved; Water resources well managed and improved; among others. Access to improved water sources Malawi has performed well over time in access to improved water sources for rural communities. The MDG and the proposed MGDS II targets for access are being achieved so that by 2008 an estimated 77% of rural households had access to improved water supply. However the data does not take into account actual consumption of water to meet basic needs. This can sometimes be low due to factors such as poor functionality rates and long times spend queuing for water which discourages use. Performance can be improved even further through better monitoring of coverage and functionality of facilities in order to better target under covered areas with new investments, and to target investments in maintenance and rehabilitation of non -functioning of facilities. The available data shows that over 90% of households in urban areas have access to improved water sources, which is a significant achievement. The 2008 data gives an access rate of 95% which is the same as the MDG target for However, as most people obtain their water from community kisks or boreholes, this suggests that there is considerable scope for the water boards to extend their piped water supplies to more households. Although data on the range of the average water supply hours from regional water boards in town an market centres is not available, project based evidence suggests that this is a key area for future performance improvements. Measurement and tracking of progress on access to improved water is hampered by a lack of consistency on definitions between the various survey questionnaires, as well as clarity on what is being measured. While there is consistency on survey questions relating to water supply technologies, there is lack of clarity on what water sources respondents actually use. This is because it is not unusual for households to use multiple water sources even for drinking. Reasons for this can include distance to the water source, total collection time, as well as functionality. Once definitions are harmonized, there are instruments that are either already institutionalized, or are in pilot phase that can be strengthened to give better data. Once a stronger platform is developed, it will be useful more detailed studies will be conducted in areas such as understanding of peoples habits in relation of different water sources for uses, coping strategies when a source is non-functional. Access and use of sanitation services In terms of access to basic sanitation, Malawi is performing well compared to other countries in the region. This is particularly true in the rural areas where there is high coverage of tradition pit latrines which has increased from 41% in 1990 to 57% in Open defecation has tremendously been reduced from 35% to 11% over the same period. However 11% of rural households still have no toilets and Malawi needs to accelerate progress on eliminating open defecation. There is still some way to go to meet the MDG target of access to improved sanitation of 73% by The MDG target is unlikely to be met because almost half of household with access to a toilet share the facility with others. In urban areas, there has been little recent progress in increased access to improved sanitation which has hovered around 50 to 51% since This is mainly due to the number of shared latrines. However, the quality of many urban toilets remains poor even if they are not shared. Due to the lack of space for the construction of one toilet per household, different solutions must be sought if the MDG target of 75% access to improved sanitation is to be achieved by The nation has made little recorded progress on the key hygiene issue of hand washing and further efforts have the potential for major rewards in this area. While there has been some progress on schools sanitation, there is concern about sustaining the improvements. One study undertaken in 2008 estimates that although 82% of primary schools have access to improved sanitary facilities only 21% and 24% of primary schools is featured strongly because almost 25% of Malawians are of primary school going age. School children will soon become adult citizens, hopefully already exposed to the benefits of good hygiene and sanitation behavior. Financial Capacity There is evidence that the financial resources available for irrigation, water and sanitation have been growing over time. However, the sector still only receives an estimated 2% of Government of Malawi Sector funding which makes it very challenging to achieve all the objectives and targets. Furthermore, amounts being spent on sanitation have been relatively low and might be sensible to review guidelines for the indicative balance of water and sanitation activities in a programme (the recommended proportion for sanitation varies from between 2% for the ADB to 20% for UNICEF). Human resource capacity The sector however faces the major challenge in human resource capacity both in skills and number. Currently, the total established posts as per Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) are 1,667. The total vacancies are 1,013 with 293 critical vacant positions that need urgent filling (Recruitment plan for the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development (MoAIWD)) The MoAIWD has limited resources to train the available staff. Challenges Despite registering the progress already highlighted, a number of challenges are faced by the sector which include the following; Vandalism of water supply systems. Delays by contractors to finish works despite several extensions (termination of contracts and re-advertising for new contractors delay works even further). Lack of equipment (Plants and Machinery) for undertaking construction of dams and boreholes. Inadequate funding resulting into some activities not being implemented Dwindling water resources; i.e. drying up of wells, dams (due to siltation), streams, dambos and rivers. Land tenure problems are affecting construction of permanent infrastructures for most of the motorized irrigation schemes Frequent breakdown of motorized pumps and scarcity of spare parts for the pumps Inadequate Capacity at district level. Strategies to overcome challenges On vandalism; the Ministry is facilitating the formation of Water Users Association at a community level to run and manage water facilities. On delays by Contractors; the ministry plans to collect this through enhanced supervision of contracts. On dwindling of water resources; this will be done through enhancement of catchment protection and management. On land tenure; improve on civic education to communities on the importance of projects proposed or implemented in the communities. On capacity at district level; Recruitment of staff as per the drafted recruitment plan Page 2

3 Sanitation Drivers and Barriers Policy and institutions Participation and Equity Coverage targets in national plan or PRSP Procedures to inform/consult stakeholders Approved sanitation policy Differentiated targets and strategies for access of vulnerable and excluded groups Lead coordinating government institution Equity criteria used to allocate funding Policies for sanitation in public places Measurable impact of equity policies Access targets in policy for schools Annual increase sufficient to meet national targets Human right to sanitation recognized Human right to sanitation claims tried in domestic court Funding available at local level Solutions adopted and used at scale to promote sanitation Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Sector wide approach Availability of sanitation products sufficient and affordable Investment program for sanitation Sufficient number of operators to meet household demands Regular review to monitor sub-sector performance Aging infrastructure Adequate complaint mechanisms Budgeting and Expenditure Climate change resilience % service provision contracted to private sector Human Resource Capacity Separate budget lines for sanitation Sufficient financial flows to meet MDG Use of domestic capital commitments Absorption of official donor commitments HR addressed in strategy or sector reviews In-country education and training for subsector personnel Sufficient extension staff for sanitation promotion % sanitation budget targeted to the poor Legend Adequate Progressing Needs attention Human Resources Policy and Institutions very high high medium Sanitation Sanitation low very low Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Budgeting and Expenditure Participation and Equity Figure 2 Sanitation Sector Capacity Radar National monitoring institutions: Ministry of Agriculture, irrigation and Water Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Local Government and Development, and National Statistics Office Page 3

4 Drinking-Water Drivers and Barriers Policy and institutions Participation and Equity Coverage target in national plan or PRSP Procedures to inform/consult stakeholders Approved drinking-water policy Differentiated targets and strategies for access of vulnerable and excluded groups Clearly defined instituional roles Equity criteria to allocate funding Participation of ministry of education in drinking-water sub-sector coordination Measurable impact of equity policies Participation of ministry of health in drinkingwater sub-sector coordination Annual increase sufficient to meet national targets Human right to drinking-water recognized Funding available at local level Human right to drinking-water claims in domestic court Drinking water quality monitoring Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Sector wide approach Regular inventories of rural drinking water infrastructure Investment program for drinking-water Technical and financial support to maintain systems? Regular review to monitor performance Regular tariff reviews resulting in adjusted tariffs Adequate complaint mechanisms Preventive risk management used (e.g. WSPs) Budgeting and Expenditure Aging infrastructure Water scarcity plans O&M costs for utilities covered by revenues Sufficient financial flows to meet MDG Use of domestic capital commitments Human Resource Capacity Absorption of official donor commitments % drinking-water budget targeted to the poor HR addressed in strategy or sector reviews Legend Adequate Progressing Needs attention In-country education and training for subsector personnel Sufficient staff for operation and maintenance Policy and Institutions Human Resources very high high medium low very low Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Water Supply Water Supply Budgeting and Expenditure Participation and Equity Figure 3 Drinking-Water Sector Capacity Radar National monitoring institutions: Ministry of Agriculture, irrigation and Water Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Local Government and Development, and National Statistics Office Page 4

5 Hygiene promotion included in national health strategy Hygiene promotion promoted in : % Population covered by main hygiene promotion programmes Primary Schools Use of toilets Does hygiene promotion address the following messages? Secondary schools Importance of drinking clean water Primary health care centres Need for hand washing Secondary health care centres Tertiary services Financial Flows 0% Capital Operation and Maintenance 10% Drinking-water Sanitation 100% 90% Figure 4 Capital vs. O&M Expenditure Figure 5 Sanitation vs. Drinking-water Expenditure Major Donors World Bank United States Agency for International Development African Development Bank Australian Agency for International Development OPEC Fund Average annual commitment (ODA) to sanitation and water US$ million / year $18,864, $11,379, $1,500, $3,879,817 Table 1 Major donors of official development assistance (ODA) to sanitation and water, Contact Information: Sandram Maweru Secretary for Irrigation and Water Development Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water development smaweru@yahoo.com Page 5