Find Water and Sanitation expertise in Malawi

Five government-owned parastatal water boards representing Blantye, Lilongwe and the Northern, Central and Southern regions, supply water and sewage services in Malawi. In 2007, all of these were making a loss. Malawi is increasingly facing water stress as its population density accelerates and resources become more inadequate.

Independent reports suggest that many households in Malawi’s rapidly expanding urban areas are not connected to a clean water supply and that fewer than one in ten households is connected to a sewer; interruptions to the water supply are common. Since the early 2000s, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development has been implementing the National Water Services Development Master Plan, supported by the African Development Bank and various international NGOs, such as Water Aid. The water supply is often intermittent, thanks to regular blackouts and limited power generating capacity.

A key part of Malawi’s development strategy is the ‘expansion of irrigated agriculture’ and widening across to safe drinking water. Irrigation is considered essential to increasing agricultural efficiency and rural economies thereby. The Shire Valley Irrigation Project in the Lower Shire Valley will follow a PPP process, with its intended to widen Malawi’s export market and alleviate the risk of ‘dry years’. The International Development Association will finance US$90 million.