Lilongwe, Malawi

Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital and economic hub, was established as a small city in the 1900s but now has a population of approximately 1 million. Malawi receives most of its average annual 86o mm rainfall during the November through to April rainy season, which has contributed to flooding events throughout this East African country’s capital city. Malawi’s largest lake, Lake Malawi, has experienced population growth’s adverse effects, including pollution and overfishing. The Lilongwe River, the city’s namesake, flows through the city and into Lake Malawi. Low-yielding aquifers cover much of the country, except those along Lake Malawi’s shores, which have high productivity.

While the more affluent areas around Lilongwe experience brief water outages, the residents receive advance warnings when they do occur so they can plan accordingly. They also tend to have backup water storage, including water tanks. Over 70% of Malawi’s population, however, lives within informal settlements, where residents experience poor water access, interruptions in regular supply, and contamination. It has been recorded that one in three people in these informal settlements does not have access to clean water.

In 2006, Malawi’s government promoted community-public partnerships (CPPs) to empower residents and achieve greater water access. WaterAid, the Center for Community Organization and Development, and Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) mobilized neighborhoods to take ownership of water delivery systems, such as with kiosks. CPPs allowed LWB to own the water infrastructure and water user associations to own public standpipes and kiosks.