Blog #6 Clean Water and Sanitation: Malawi

Water and Sanitation: Malawi

 

In this week’s blog, I am focusing on a small, densely populated county in southeastern Africa known as Malawi. This country is one of the poorest countries in the world and is home to 18.62 million people. Furthermore, most of the population still lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day (Water for People, 2019). Malawi joined the United Nations on January 12, 1964. Over the years, Malawi has been working together to improve the needs of clean water and sanitation. Around 65% of the population has access to basic water services, and 25% of the population has access to basic sanitation services (Water for People, 2019).

Clean water and sanitation is the sixth goal of the sustainable development goals and is being implemented by various organizations. This goal is a priority in the country and has utilized the help of organizations to improve the issue. The Water And Development Alliance (WADA) and Water for People are a few of the many organizations that are monitoring and working with the government of Malawi to improve access to clean water and sanitation. The problem is that Malawi is experiencing a high level of population growth, increases demands on its water resources, and lack of infrastructure.

The Water and Development Alliance partners with various companies, communities, and governments to address the challenges of clean water and sanitation throughout many countries. It is estimated that it will cost $44 million USD to provide safe water and sanitation to the countries (Globalwaters, 2017). This project is supposed to continue up to 2021 and they have reached over 854,000 people in various countries. The Water for People is helping Malawians bring water, sanitation, and hygiene to their communities. Also, they are increasing access to water and sanitation among students at school. The budget for this project is based on fundraising from the community and other organizations. Climate change has played a role in Malawi’s water and sanitation issues. This country is vulnerable to rising temperatures and excess rainfall which can cause droughts and flooding. Also, climate change has impacted their agriculture and infrastructural systems.

 

References

Clean Water in Malawi: Where We Work. (2020, February 10). Retrieved from https://www.waterforpeople.org/malawi/

Water and Development Alliance. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.globalwaters.org/wada


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