Water Supply and Sanitation in Zambia

Water Supply And Sanitation In Zambia

This article was last updated in December 2012, but not all parts of the article may be up to date. Please feel free to further update it if need be.

Water supply and sanitation in Zambia is characterized by achievements and challenges. Among the achievements are the creation of regional commercial utilities for urban areas to replace fragmented service provision by local governments; the estalishment of a regulatory agency that has substantially improved the availability of information on service provision in urban areas; the establishment of a devolution trust fund to focus donor support on poor peri-urban areas; and an increase in the access to water supply in rural areas. Among the challenges are a low rate of cost recovery despite tariff increases in urban areas; limited capacity in the sector; insufficient progress in increasing access to sanitation; a high level of non-revenue water in urban areas; a high rate of non-functioning rural water systems; and insufficient investment levels despite substantial foreign aid.