Water Supply & Sanitation

Water supply and sanitation are often more challenging in rural areas, due to their environmental fragility and relatively poor economic conditions. Rural areas are home to most of those who lack access to unimproved sources of drinking water and safe sanitation: for example in Sub-Saharan Africa, 10% of the population consumes untreated surface water, while 20% of the rural population lacks safe sanitation. 

In rural areas, public water provision and sanitation services, as well as water infrastructures such as water collection points, pit latrines and septic tanks, are often inadequately maintained and in poor shape. In addition to this lack of services, natural water sources such as wells, pumps, and rivers are often contaminated and provide an unreliable supply. 

As water technologies are often designed for urban contexts, they may not take into account the specificities of rural areas in terms of energy efficiency, the use of natural treatment systems, and the cultural appropriateness needed in Africa.