Medicine
Evaluating the Sustainability of Water Sanitation Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
Quick fact
A study of hand pumps in sub-Saharan Africa found that roughly one in three fails within the first decade; overall, about 30–50% of water projects become non-functional over time. This means that hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on projects that do not deliver lasting water access.
Why this is interesting
What if several million dollars of aid money used to build wells simply disappears within a few years? In Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 40% of hand pumps are broken at any given time, revealing a hidden crisis behind many water projects.
Read the full explanation
Understanding Evaluating the Sustainability of Water Sanitation Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
Imagine pouring a glass of water, but the glass has a crack. Initially, the glass seems to hold water, but soon it leaks and eventually empties. Similarly, a single drilling of a borehole or installation of a hand pump is a quick success, but without the right conditions—such as access to spare parts, a skilled mechanic, and a community that feels ownership—the project 'leaks' and becomes useless. Evaluating sustainability means looking beyond the moment of construction. It asks: Will this well still work in 5, 10, or 20 years? Will the community keep the surrounding area clean? Will there be funding for repairs? Evaluators use frameworks that consider technical, financial, institutional, social, and environmental factors. For example, the World Health Organization's Sustainability Index scores projects on these dimensions, and many NGOs now include sustainability indicators in their monitoring systems. At its core, sustainability is about ensuring that the benefits (like reduced disease and time saved) continue long after the initial project period ends. This requires thinking of the project not as a one-time delivery but as an ongoing service that must be maintained by people, funds, and institutions.
A deeper explanation
The need for sustainability evaluation arises because the primary causes of failure are systemic rather than technical. Field experience shows that boreholes often fail not because of faulty drilling but because of poor planning and a lack of follow-up. For example, a community may not have a trained caretaker, no supply chain for replacement parts, or no budget to pay for repairs. Even if the project is built perfectly, if the community cannot or will not maintain it, the project will collapse. Mechanistically, sustainability relies on a cycle: community ownership leads to effective management, which leads to financial and technical capacity, which in turn supports continued use and upkeep, which reinforces ownership. When any link in this chain breaks, the entire system fails. Evaluators therefore examine each link using indicators such as: whether a water committee was formed and trained, whether a maintenance fund is being collected, whether spare parts are available within a reasonable distance, and whether local government provides technical support. The importance of this evaluation is profound: without it, donors and governments cannot know if their investments are effective. Sustainability evaluation provides evidence for what works and what doesn't, enabling adaptation of future projects. It also holds funders and implementers accountable, and helps communities themselves understand what they need to do to keep their water flowing.