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WaterAid Zambia has called for increased investment in sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, warning that millions of Zambians still lack access to these essential services.
WaterAid Zambia Country Director, Yankho Mataya, said 32 percent of households in the country lack basic water access, 64 percent lack basic sanitation, 82 percent lack basic hygiene, while 13 percent of healthcare facilities operate without any water service.
She made the remarks during the signing ceremony of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), and WaterAid Zambia in Lusaka on Friday.
Mataya highlighted the urgent need to address these deficits within the broader WASH ecosystem, which involved actors at community, institutional, and subnational levels.
“We have reached over 3 million people in more than 40 years of work in Zambia and are committed to strengthening institutions and capacity development,” Mataya said.
She stressed that financing was vital for the long-term operation and maintenance of water services, ensuring sustainability beyond initial capital investments.
With a focus on inclusive service delivery, she pledged to work alongside government and communities to ensure that no one was left behind, especially women and children who are disproportionately affected.
Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation Permanent Secretary, Engineer Romas Kamanga, described the signing as a significant milestone and a new chapter in cooperation towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 and Zambia’s Vision 2030.
He emphasised that clean water and sanitation were foundational to public health, economic growth, and human dignity, adding that success goes beyond infrastructure to include institutional capacity building.
“This memorandum represents mutual trust and a clear roadmap for working together across all levels, from national to provincial and district,” Kamanga said, while pledging to embrace innovative water technologies, data-driven decision-making, and robust sector performance reviews.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Permanent Secretary Dr. Gabriel Pollen, through Director for Rural Development, Engineer Fanizani Phiri, said the collaboration would enhance the capacity of local authorities to effectively manage rural water and sanitation services.
He stressed the importance of empowering local staff to ensure rural communities are not left behind and underlined the need for inclusive and innovative approaches in policy, capacity building, and urban-rural planning.
“This memorandum will produce tangible results as we build bridges and share knowledge to transform rural communities and improve lives,” Phiri said, thanking partners for their commitment and unity of purpose in achieving collective goals.
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