Families in Dowa could spend less time searching for water and more time building their livelihoods if an ambitious district plan succeeds, but the council says hitting the target will depend on one thing, stronger partnerships.
Dowa District Council has set a target of increasing water access to 90 percent by 2028, saying it cannot achieve the goal without the support of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) partners.
The Council has developed the District Systems Investment Plan (DSIP) as a targeted framework to operationalize key WASH priorities outlined in the District Development Plan ( DDP).
The developed DSIP is a step towards the realization of Social Development Goal ( SDG 6) – clean water and sanitation.
Presenting the District Coordinating Team (DCT) progress report at a meeting held at the Boma, the Council’s Water Development Officer Fanny Muula, said water goes beyond WASH – without boreholes, girls drop out of school, clinics struggle to operate and cholera risk increases.
Muula said the DSIP enhances the planning, implementation, and monitoring of WASH interventions, and responding directly to the District Development Plan (DDP).
She said the DSIP is also linked to Malawi 2063 and specifically Enabler 5 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) with an objective of improving public – health and human development through better service delivery.
The officer said the integrated approach of the DSIP is focusing on three components such as rural water supply, sanitation and Hygiene, and capacity building targeting the population using safe and wesustainable water supply in communities and institutions, improved sanitation and Hygiene at household level and institutions.
“Behind every percentage point is a family who now drinks safe water, a school girl who no longer misses class due to poor sanitation, and a community empowered to sustain this gains,” said Muula.
However, Muula said the DSIP in the district is meeting some challenges such as poor reporting by both Area Mechanics and Water Monitoring Assistants, unproper clear sanitation functions, research and human constraints and phasing out of WASH project and that certain areas have geological formations that compromise water quality.
She said increasing human capital, lobbying for increased funding and WASH partners in the district, and sharing of data from partners to the district on the implementation progress.
Organizations such as Red Cross, Design Outreach, Orant Charities, Self Help Africa, Rhema, World Vision, and Weit Hunger Hilfe (WWH) are some of the institutions that are complimenting government efforts towards delivery of WASH related interventions in Dowa district.
