The Millennium Development Goal target for safe water supply is currently unlikely to be met in Zambia.
In order to serve the population that is unlikely to be reached under conventional communitybased
water
supply programmes, alternative approaches to water supply service provision need to be explored. One
such alternative is the SelfSupply
approach which encourages households to develop and improve their
own infrastructure incrementally. However, to ensure the actualisation of such an approach an enabling
environment needs to be created that includes enabling policies, sufficient private sector capacity, access
to appropriate technologies and technical advice, and effective financial mechanisms and markets.
Drawing on the findings of a baseline survey in Luapula province it is concluded that there is significant
potential for SelfSupply
in Zambia and that an enabling environment largely exists. There is a need,
however, to develop effective microcredit
facilities that are accessible to rural households