Water supply and sanitation in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country and therefore its major water supplies are lakes, rivers, and aquifers. The two major rivers in Zimbabwe are the Zambezi River in the north, and the Limpopo River in the south. Several other rivers with significant watershed areas that flow through Zimbabwe are the Save, Manyame, and Sanyati Rivers. The biggest lake in Zimbabwe is Lake Kariba which is on the border with Zambia.[6] There are several large aquifers in Zimbabwe.

In urban centers of Zimbabwe the majority of the water supply comes from piped water. In rural areas, Zimbabweans predominantly rely on wells and boreholes that tap into Zimbabwe's groundwater supply.[5] The construction of many wells was mainly financed by the households themselves. The dynamic development of the private sector is a good example of how self-supply initiatives can reach large parts of the population.[9] Many Zimbabweans still practice open defecation, especially in rural areas.[10] However, in large urban centers such as Harare, there are sewage systems, and many homes throughout Zimbabwe have private pit latrines or share communal latrines.[4]

A group of women and children at a borehole in Norton, Zimbabwe

In 2018 problems at the Morton Jeffray Waterworks in Harare were said to be the cause of the renewed cholera outbreak.[11]

Several promising technological innovations have greatly improved the access to and quality of water supply in Zimbabwe. For example the Zimbabwean Bush Pump has been highlighted as a "fluid" technology that has greatly expanded access to cleaner water throughout the country. The diffusion of this technology can be understood because of its remarkable adaptability. The implementation, operation, and repair of the bush pump is determined by the input and choices of local communities, and as such this technology has no "hard boundaries" since it can adapted, utilized, and personalized by communities throughout Zimbabwe.[12]

According to UNICEF, over 60% of the rural water supply infrastructure in Zimbabwe is in a state of disrepair,[10] and as a result, many boreholes and wells contain non potable water and are in need of decontamination. Even in urban centers, piped water supply is very sporadic and sometimes unclean. This is partly due to poor sanitation and refuse systems resulting in many sewers which are often highly polluted.[3] There is also a pressing inadequacy in the number of public and private latrines.[4] An additional problem that comes with the need to update and expand an aging and contaminated water supply and sanitation network (well, boreholes, piped water, latrines, etc.) is the need to educate all members of the Zimbabwean public on available opportunities for improving personal access to improved water supply and sanitation. During the cholera outbreak of 2008-2009 information from the Zimbabwean government about the safety of available water supplies people was particularly unclear.[3] One method that has proved effective at improving the sanitation practices of the public are community health clubs, which have also proved to be cost effective and highly popular.[4]

Kariba dam as seen from Zimbabwe.

UNICEF is currently managing several programs in collaboration with the entire WASH program to ameliorate water and sewage systems. These include updating sanitation systems in the towns of Masvingo, Plumtree, and Zvishavane, and managing a $30 million (US Dollars) project to provide potable water and improved sanitation to 500,000 Zimbabweans. As well as this, UNICEF and the entire WASH program are working towards providing safe water and sanitation to 2.3 million people in Zimbabwe currently without access to improved water and sanitation.[10]

The lack of improved water supply and sanitation severely impacts the human capabilities of all Zimbabweans. Without clean water and proper sanitation human beings are more prone to contracting illnesses, and therefore suffer greater rates of morbidity and mortality due to these illnesses. Improved water supply and sanitation sectors are shown to be highly effective at reducing the rates of morbidity and mortality for many illnesses including ascariasis, cholera, diarrhea, dracunculiasis, hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, and trachoma.[19] Diarrhea is an especially serious disease considering it is the largest killer of children under the age of five in Africa.[3] Cholera is also a serious sickness in Zimbabwe.

The serious effects of unimproved water supply and sanitation on health and human dignity are reasons why one of the UN Millennium Development Goals was to halve "the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation".[20] One key facet of the Millennium Development Goal was limiting the number of people who openly defecate which UNICEF estimates is currently at 40% of Zimbabweans in rural areas.[10] Open defecation can be an infringement on human dignity [3] that lowers human capabilities and a risk to clean sanitation and health.

By creating improved water supply and sanitation facilities women's lives achieve greater agency. It is often women who are responsible for providing the water supply used by the family on a day-to-day basis. As a result of a family having clean bathrooms and a safe water supply within close proximity of its dwelling, women spend less time collecting water and more time pursuing their own ambitions or doing other necessary work.[4] In addition the lack of clean bathrooms in many Zimbabwean schools prevent girls from attending school while menstruating. Thus, eliminating poor sanitation and increasing access to potable water greatly increases human dignity and capabilities.[3]