How WSUP works in Mozambique

How WSUP works in Mozambique As Mozambique’s urban population rises, there is an urgent need to build better services in Maputo and other cities in the country.

The country is one of the poorest in the world, and is the 8th lowest in the UN Human Development Index, with 50% of the country’s urban population living below the national poverty line.

Only 25% of Mozambique’s urban residents have access to piped water and 56% lack even the most basic sanitation facilities.

Since 2007, WSUP has worked with local government, service providers and communities to improve access to vital services for low-income urban residents.

In Maputo, we have formed long-term partnerships with the water asset owner FIPAG and the water utility AdeM, as well as the Maputo City Council which has responsibility for providing sanitation services in the city.

Credit: Mario Macilau

Impact to date: 450,000

people with improved water services

120,000

people with improved sanitation services

220,000

people with improved hygiene practices

Correct as of December 2016

WSUP Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor

Developing improved services in Maputo and Beira

TANZANIA

Supporting stronger service providers At the heart of WSUP’s approach is the belief that strong service providers are essential in order for low-income customers to receive better services.

We have worked with AdeM to reduce losses caused by theft and leakage, and improve payments collection (so-called non-revenue water). As a result of the benefits seen, AdeM has invested an additional $250,000 and received over $1m additional revenue so far.

We have also found ways to engage other private sector operators and community-based operators to provide water services in low-income communities where AdeM might struggle to operate.

Improving community sanitation The vast majority of the city’s residents live outside the small area of Maputo that is sewered, leaving them reliant on on-site sanitation services instead.

WSUP’s work has focused particularly on the district of Nhlamankulu where we have worked closely with the Maputo City Council. We have built new communal sanitation blocks, strengthened small businesses to enable them to provide toilet waste collection services, and worked with local communities to foster better hygiene practices.

Working in schools WSUP has supported 10 schools in Maputo to improve their facilities, and has built a strong relationship with the Councillor for Education. We work with the school boards (formed of school directors, teachers, parents, and local community representatives), and support them to establish effective management of water and sanitation.

WSUP also plans to implement hygiene promotion campaigns for the school’s local communities, further embedding positive messaging. In the coming years, WSUP aims to support all 104 primary schools in Maputo, and to improve policies through engagement with the government.

Work with us Between 2016 and 2020, our aim is to reach 1.6 million people across Maputo and Beira, providing them with access to improved water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

We will continue to extend water services in low-income communities, and support our partner utilities to become more effective through the reduction of non-revenue water.

We will work with the municipal authorities to deliver more community sanitation services and improve how human waste is collected and treated.

And, to ensure that the new services deliver the maximum benefits to health and dignity, we will work with communities in Maputo and Beira to ensure that hygiene practices are continually improved.

This work will require £7 million of funding.

WSUP Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor

MALAWI ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE

Beira, since 2015

Maputo, since 2007 SOUTH AFRICA

Case study: Breina’s story improving school facilities The toilets at school have always been bad. There was an awful smell, and they were always very dirty. Many students urinated and defecated outside. I have been a student at this school for seven years but until now I had never used the facilities.

When I needed the toilet I would leave school and go to a friend’s house. I didn’t use the school’s toilets because I was afraid of getting sick.

We didn’t have a regular water supply at school. We just had one tap that was used by all the students and cleaning staff. We had to wait in a queue and fight to get water to drink.

Things are different now. We are no longer afraid to use the toilets because they are kept clean and they don’t smell bad.

We have a proper place to wash our hands after using the toilet. We also have two more taps with a regular supply of water so we don’t have to fight to get water anymore.