Rural Water Supply And Sanitation In Zimbabwe: Recent Policy Developments

The importance of water supply and sanitation in developing countries cannot be questioned. One of the principal manifestations of the poverty which characterizes many developing countries is poor health, which in turn is manifested through high infant mortality rates and comparatively shorter life expectation periods. Most of the serious killer diseases in developing countries are directly connected with poor domestic water and sanitation facilities. Such diseases are either waterborne or a result of inadequate use of water for hygiene purposes. They include typhoid, cholera, diarrhoeal and intestinal infections, and a variety of eye and skin diseases. Within developing countries, good water and sanitation (and other environmental and social) facilities tend to be concentrated in urban areas, although the neglected rural areas frequently carry more than 70 per cent of the national total population. Fortunately, the recent swing away from emphasis on urbanization and industrial development towards emphasis on agriculture and rural development has resulted in, among other things, significant efforts in provision of rural water supply and sanitation facilities, an important basic need and indicator of health development.

A RUP Occasional Paper.