Getting the message across: an experiment in radio-based water resources management education in Malawi

Recent studies have recommended leveraging on the potency of media advocacy in attaining the goals of sustainable safe water as key to healthy and prosperous communities. This paper describes the experience of trialling a 6-week radio pilot focussed on water resources management and tracking its effectiveness using SMS technology and field interviews with radio listener groups. Despite a short broadcast period, the radio pilot registered measurable traction with audiences due to a 56% response rate to the SMS tracking system, evidence of behaviour change at village-level and cases of unsolicited queries from the general public demanding for more information. Though effective, any radio-based intervention, at-scale, has to be complemented with field support to receptive communities that could act as model villages. This could be achieved through close collaboration with local government extension networks and the establishment of a community of practise to act as a referral system for queries

Reflecting SDG 6.1 in rural water supply tariffs : considering 'affordability' versus 'operations and maintenance costs' in Malawi

Local tariffs in the form of household contributions are the primary financial mechanism to fund the maintenance of rural water supplies in Malawi. An investigation was conducted into the tariffs set by rural service providers to sustain drilled boreholes equipped with Afridev handpumps. A binary logistic regression analysis identified significant explanatory variables for the most common identified considerations when setting tariffs, ‘affordability’ and ‘operations and maintenance (O&M) costs’. The results demonstrate tariffs collected less frequently and usage above the design limit of the Afridev (300 users) had lower odds of considering affordability and higher odds of considering O&M costs, than those collected per month and within the design limit. The results further suggest a recognition by service providers of an increased maintenance challenge. High usage, acquiring spare parts, and the collection of tariffs when repairs are required indicate an increased likelihood of considering O&M costs, conversely to considering affordability. The balance of affordability and sustainable maintenance is a perpetual challenge under decentralised service delivery. Investment into ongoing support and supply chains is required for the financial and operational requirements of water supply, to ensure payments for services does not prevent access to clean water at the local level and to achieve the 2030 agenda

Evolving water point mapping to strategic decision making in rural Malawi

There is a need to evolve from the simple mapping of water points, now often numerous, to effective decision making using these data. This paper outlines new developments of mWater as the preferred online Management Information System (MIS) tool to analyse significant volumes of water and sanitation data in Malawi. mWater exemplifies an evolving strategic decision-making tool used to formulate rural water supply investment strategies. A time series of 25,000 water points have been mapped since 2011 to build a complete asset register of water infrastructure to support government endeavours to reach Sustainable Development Goal 6. This comprehensive live database allows real-time analysis of over sixty variables, including linkage to concurrent mWater sanitation and waste data. This paper briefly illustrates several emergent uses of the facility to exemplify its potential in strategic decision making using Big Data. It is currently being rolled out across the entire country

Potency of Citrus Peels (Citrus Aurantiifolia (Cristm.) Swingle) Ethanolic Extract as Chemopreventive Agent Through Downregulation of C-myc Expression and Inhibition of 7.12-dimethylbenz[a]antrachene Induced Female Sprague Dawley Rats Breast Cell Proliferation

The using of natural-based medicine is growing rapidly in societies. Besides being cheap and affordable, natural-based medicine is relatively safer than the synthetic drugs. Peel of Citrus aurantifolia (Cristm.) Swingle) is one of the chemopreventive agent which contain flavonoids have potency as anticarcinogenic agent. This study is designed to study the potency of Citrus aurantifolia peel ethanolic extract in proliferation inhibition of Rattus norvegicus mammary cell of Sprague Dawley strain which is induced by 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). Rats were divided into five groups consist of DMBA treatment, CMC-Na treatment, extract 1500 mg/kgBW treatment, treatment of DMBA+ extract 750 mg/kgBW and DMBA+ extract 1500 mg/kgBW. At the beginning of the tenth week of the study, breasts was isolated and stored in 10% formalin buffer. Observation of cell proliferation was done by AgNOR method. C-Myc expression observed using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Observation of mammary cell with AgNOR method indicated that the treatment of Citrus aurantifolia peel ethanolic extract can inhibit cell proliferation significantly. Dosage 1500 mg/kgBW gave higher inhibition effect than dosage 750 mg/kgBW. IHC result showed that treatment of Citrus aurantifolia peel ethanolic extract decrease the expression of c-Myc. Dosage 750 mg/kgBW gave lower decreasing effect than dosage 1500 mg/kgBW. Citrus aurantifolia peel ethanolic extract inhibited the proliferation of mammary cell induced DMBA through the inhibition of c-Myc expression in dose dependent phenomena so that it is a potential chemopreventive agent

Seasonally variant stable isotope baseline characterisation of Malawi's Shire River Basin to support integrated water resources management

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is vital to the future of Malawi and motivates this study's provision of the first stable isotope baseline characterization of the Shire River Basin (SRB). The SRB drains much of Southern Malawi and receives the sole outflow of Lake Malawi whose catchment extends over much of Central and Northern Malawi (and Tanzania and Mozambique). Stable isotope (283) and hydrochemical (150) samples were collected in 2017-2018 and analysed at Malawi's recently commissioned National Isotopes Laboratory. Distinct surface water dry-season isotope enrichment and wet-season depletion are shown with minor retention of enriched signatures ascribed to Lake Malawi influences. Isotopic signatures corroborate that wet-season river flows mostly arise from local precipitation, with dry-season flows supported by increased groundwater contributions. Groundwater signatures follow a local meteoric water line of limited spread suggesting recharge by local precipitation predominantly during the peak months of the wet-season. Relatively few dry-season groundwater samples displayed evaporative enrichment, although isotopic seasonality was more pronounced in the lowlands compared to uplands ascribed to amplified climatic effects. These signatures serve as isotopic diagnostic tools that valuably informed a basin conceptual model build and, going forward, may inform key identified Malawian IWRM concerns. The isotopic baseline establishes a benchmark against which future influences from land use, climate change and water mixing often inherent to IWRM schemes may be forensically assessed. It thereby enables both source-water protection and achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6

Making the case for improved planning, construction and testing of water supply infrastructure in Malawi

Detailed surveys of poorly functioning rural water supply points (boreholes fitted with handpumps) in the Southern Region of Malawi show that poor functionality is most commonly caused by a) poor water resource (quantity and quality) and b) sub-standard borehole construction. Only 24% of surveyed water points showed problems caused by poor handpump operation, maintenance and management. The majority of problems observed are caused by sub-standard construction of water points prior to commissioning for use, and are typically permanent and irremediable. These issues are contributing to excessive service delivery costs through a) extended down times, b) disproportionate maintenance requirements and c) abandoned infrastructure; the resulting burden precipitates the failure of community based management approaches. This burden could be dramatically reduced by ensuring water points are proven to comply with Malawian Government standards, prior to commissioning for use. Water points not meeting these standards must not be commissioned for use

The cost of a sustainable water supply at network kiosks in peri-urban Blantyre, Malawi

Empirical insights were made into the challenges of supplying water to communities within low-income areas of peri-urban Blantyre, Malawi. A networked public water supply is provided to those without a domestic tap via communal water kiosks managed by community-based Water User Associations (WUAs) under a government mandate. There has been considerable debate surrounding the tariff charged for water supplied to such vulnerable communities. However, research has largely failed to consider the costs of WUAs operating the kiosks and the impact on the kiosk tariff. The determination of kiosk tariffs is critical to ensuring lifeline access to a sustainable water supply under Sustainable Development Goal 6. We provide evidence of this from our experience in the field in Blantyre. In particular, we argue that sustainable kiosk running costs cannot be born solely by the end user. A number of reforms are needed to help reduce the kiosk tariff. To reduce WUA costs and the kiosk tariffs, WUAs need more training in financial record keeping and cost management, WUAs should not inherit outstanding kiosk debt upon taking over their operations, and water boards should build kiosk costs over which they have fiscal responsibility into integrated block tariff calculations and subsidize them accordingly

Understanding the functionality and burden on decentralised rural water supply : influence of millennium development goal 7c coverage targets

The sustainability of rural groundwater supply infrastructure, primarily boreholes fitted with hand pumps, remains a challenge. This study evaluates whether coverage targets set out within the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) inadvertently increased the challenge to sustainably manage water supply infrastructure. Furthermore, the drive towards decentralised service delivery contributes to the financial burden of water supply assets. A sample size of 14,943 Afridev hand pump boreholes was extracted from a comprehensive live data set of 68,984 water points across Malawi to investigate the sustainability burden as emphasis shifts to the 2030 agenda. The results demonstrate that the push for coverage within the MDG era has impacted the sustainability of assets. A lack of proactive approaches towards major repairs and sub-standard borehole construction alongside aging infrastructure contributes to reduced functionality of decentralised supplies. Furthermore, costly rehabilitation is required to bring assets to operational standards, in which external support is commonly relied upon. Acceleration towards the coverage targets has contributed towards unsustainable infrastructure that has further implications moving forward. These findings support the need for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) investment planning to move from a focus on coverage targets to a focus on quality infrastructure and proactive monitoring approaches to reduce the future burden placed on communities