MCI Releases Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Blantyre

MCI’s latest study, “Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Blantyre City, Malawi,” evaluates the progress toward the attainment of MDG 7C, halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, in Malawi’s economic capital.

The report identifies a number of challenges facing the country’s second largest city; among them, water production does not meet demand, while operational inefficiencies, such as leakages, illegal connections and vandalism, decrease access to clean water. Only 10 percent of the city’s population is connected to a sewerage system, and there is no solid waste removal system in most of the city’s low-income areas.

MCI estimates that, with an annual investment of $16 per capita between 2013 and 2015, Blantyre can attain the water- and sanitation-related MDGs, investing in areas such as the rehabilitation of treatment plants, the improvement of cost-recovery methods and the development of a more effective response to the unfortunate vandalism in a city already suffering from significant water scarcity.