Human Settlements Working Paper Series Theme: Water - 7 Water and sanitation in urban Malawi: Can the Millennium Development Goals be met? A study of informal settlements in three cities Mtafu A. Zeleza Manda for The Scottish Government & International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) August 2009 i ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mtafu A. Zeleza Manda holds a Master of Science degree in urban development from University College London (UCL), and postgraduate diplomas in housing from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) (Holland) and in population from the University of Botswana. He is Director of Alma Consultancy, a private planning and environmental management practice he established in 1998. He has previously worked in the Physical Planning Department and donor-funded projects under the Ministries of Local Government and Lands and Natural Resources in the Malawi Government. In 2003 he helped to found the Centre for Community Organisation and Development (CCODE) in Malawi, and serves as the CCODE board Chairman. He was instrumental in establishing the Malawi Urban Forum and the Malawi Award for Human Settlements. Mtafu A. Zeleza Manda Alma Consultancy, PO Box 30193, Lilongwe 3, Malawi E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © IIED 2009 ISBN: 978-1-84369-733-6 This paper can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=10569IIED. A printed version of this paper is also available from Earthprint for US$20 (www.earthprint.com) Human Settlements Group International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) 3 Endsleigh Street London WC1H 0DD, UK Tel: 44 20 7388 2117 (international); 020 7388 2117 (UK) Fax: 44 20 7388 2826 (international); 020 7388 2826 (UK) Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the Housing Investment Division of the Scottish Government and IIED for making available funding for this study. Special thanks to Ralph Throp and Diana Mitlin for coordinating the funding and supervision respectively, and to Martin Mulenga for useful comments. Thanks also to the following enumerators: Spencer Phiri, Patrick Mkandawire, James Nkhata, Tobias Moyo, Mark Manda and Yotam Gondwe. Others who assisted in the data analysis are Alexander Chirambo of Mzuzu City and Vincent Manda of Bunda College, Hastings Majawa of Water Department Blantyre Office, Deziderio Kaikho Sitima of CWL and Chatonda Madise of NRWB in Mzuzu. Finally, thanks to all participants at the stakeholders’ workshop for their contributions. Please note that the views expressed in this publication are those of the authors only. ii Contents Abbreviations and acronyms.....................................................................................................v SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................vi 1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................1 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study...................................................................................2 1.3 Brief literature review.....................................................................................................3 2 Study methodology.............................................................................................................9 2.1 The study areas.............................................................................................................9 2.2 Study methodology......................................................................................................14 2.3 Constraints of the study...............................................................................................16 3 Study results and discussion ..........................................................................................16 3.1 Institutional arrangements...........................................................................................16 3.2 Policy and regulatory framework.................................................................................20 3.3 Socioeconomic characteristics of surveyed households.............................................22 3.4 Housing conditions......................................................................................................25 3.5 Water supply and access ............................................................................................28 3.6 Sanitation ....................................................................................................................44 3.7 Solid waste disposal....................................................................................................56 3.8 Personal hygiene practices .........................................................................................58 3.9 Summary findings........................................................................................................61 4 Recommendations ............................................................................................................63 ANNEXES...................................................................................................................................65 Annexe 1: Analysis of water quality at the study sites ............................................................65 Annexe 2: Blantyre Water Board press release, July 2008.....................................................69 Annexe 3: Map of Malawi showing urban settlements............................................................70 REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................................71 Recent publications by IIED’s Human Settlements Group ...................................................74 BOXES 1 Extreme neglect of sanitation 8 2 Mchesi housing: extreme overcrowding 25 3 Problems and interventions in water-kiosk management 30 4 Manual emptying of pit latrines 48 FIGURES 1 How wrongly defined indicators can give false hopes 5 2A Map of Blantyre City showing the study areas 10 2B Misesa study area in Blantyre City 11 3A Mchesi study area in Lilongwe City 12 3B Mgona study area in Lilongwe City 13 4 Mzuzu City, showing the study areas 14 5 Namichimba Stream, Misesa: girls draw water for domestic use first, then wash 31 clothes and clean up 6 Newly built water kiosk in Area 24, Lilongwe; the cost of the kiosk is reflected in the 36 cost of water 7 Mzuzu Federation Village: collecting water from a shallow well 1.5m lower than a 50 urine-diversion pipe 4m away iii 8 The first skyloo manure harvest at Blantyre Federation Village 51 9a Urine-diversion pipes leading into soak pits 52 9b New skyloo toilets at Area 49, Lilongwe: note the concrete soak pit and distant pipe 53 into a storm drain 9c New skyloo to divert urine and bath water into abandoned forsa alterna, Area 49, 53 Lilongwe 10 Demonstration skyloo at Ndirande by Hygiene Village Project 54 TABLES 1 Malawi urban population, 1987–2020 2 2 Official figures for urban water and sanitation coverage, year 2000 (percentage of 3 population) 3 Conflicting data on access to potable water for Malawi (percentage of population) 5 4 Access to safe sanitation in Malawi (percentage of population) 6 5 Distribution of households interviewed 15 6 Distribution of questionnaires by township/location 16 7 Highest education level of head of household 22 8 Monthly income of household by city and township/location 24 9 Number of (a) people per household by city and location, (b) households living on 26-27 each plot by city and township/location 10 House ownership by households 28 11 Duration of stay in the location 28 12 Primary source of drinking water by city and location 34 13 Time in minutes taken to collect water at a facility 35 14 Water consumption at kiosk 8/11, Mchesi, Lilongwe City 40 15 Water tariff structures for (a) Blantyre Water Board, (b) Lilongwe Water Board 41-42 16 Methods of faecal disposal 46 17 Disposal of children’s faeces in households (2005 report) 46 18 Type of latrine used by households 47 19 Usage of toilet facilities by city and township/location 48 20 Sources of finance for toilet construction 55 21 Methods of solid waste disposal 57 22 Critical times for washing hands 59 23 Reduction of the incidence of diarrhoea by water and sanitation project 60 iv Abbreviations and acronyms CBO community-based organization CCODE Centre for Community Organisation and Development CRS Catholic Relief Services MDG Millennium Development Goal MHPF Malawi Homeless Peoples’ Federation MIWD Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development NGO non-governmental organization NSO National Statistics Office TSP Training Support for Partners UDDT urine-diversion dry toilet UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements WFP Water for People WHO World Health Organization WUA Water Users’ Association v SUMMARY Introduction This paper assesses the quality and extent of provision for water and sanitation in urban areas in Malawi – where over 60% of the population lives in informal settlements. It also considers whether the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation are likely to be met in Malawi, and examines the current and potential role of community-led sanitation improvements. It includes recommendations for interventions needed by governmental, international