Sanitation partnerships - Maputo

Case study - Maputo, Mozambique

 

The Maputo case study focused on sanitation improvement in two poor urban bairros (suburbs) where refugees from the civil war and natural disasters have settled.

 

In the Urbanizacao bairro at the time, the Belgian NGO Medicos sem Fronteiras (MSF) and WaterAid worked with and through a local CBO created to tackle local water and sanitation needs.  The CBO provided a pit emptying service, but faced challenges in its relationship with the local Municipal Council. The Council shared responsibility for sanitation in Maputo with no less than six other government agencies, illustrating the extreme fragmentation that characterises sanitation oversight across the continent,

 

In the bairro of Maxaquene A, the NGO CARE supported the emergence of a micro-enterprise, UGSM, focusing on solid waste removal. This was subsequently contracted by Maputo Municipal Council to collect household solid waste in the neighbourhood.  At the time of the study, there was potential for this business model to be extended to on-site sanitation; such a service was urgently needed, given problems related to poor drainage in these low-lying settlements.

 

The case is a good illustration of the intermediary role that NGOs can play in delivering sanitation services, and the challenges in their relationships with municipal authorities.  It also provides some interesting contrasts between solid waste and sanitation delivery in poor neighbourhoods .

 

                    


Related publications

BPD report on the Maputo case study (summary) 

The full case study is also available, analysing the policy context, service delivery arrangements and prospects for partnership in Maputo For a copy, please contact BPD.