Case Study: An aid project in an LEDC
Location:
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali is a country in
West Africa. Its size is just 480,000 sq miles with a
population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako.
Type of aid: WATERAID
1 in 8 of the world’s population don’t have
to safe water
access
2/5 of the world’s population don’t have access to
adequate sanitation
One child every 20 seconds dies from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor
sanitation.
This is the same as 160 infant school classrooms lost every single day to an entirely
preventable health crisis.
WaterAid has reached 14.38 million people with safe water since 1981
Last year WaterAid reached 940,000 people with safe water and 1.24 million people with
sanitation.
Why is this aid needed?
Rainfall is low in the country and decreasing every year. Due to low amount of rainfall it is
very desert like. Also Mali is one of the poorest nations in the world so can’t afford the
appropriate technology to access clean water.
How does the aid work?
WaterAid was established in 1981
1. It provides clean water and sanitation
services to the poorest people.
2. WaterAid funds the areas water network.
3. WaterAid trains local people to manage
and maintain the system and raise
money to keep it operational.
4. Investing in education programmes to continue their own development into the
future, thus making the project sustainable.
In urban areas our partners are helping to establish communal tapstands that are linked to
the city's main water supplies. Community members pay a small amount to buy their water
and this is used to pay for the upkeep of the water point and for the wages of trained
community members who manage it.
In rural areas WaterAid's projects focus on helping communities to deepen and protect
hand-dug wells and fit them with either handpumps or buckets and windlasses to ensure
that the water is not contaminated. When possible, broken handpumps are also mended.
How has it helped?
Significant improvements in the health of the community
Reduced number of deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases by 65%.
Reduced number of child deaths. A child dies every 17 seconds for diseases associated
with unsafe water.
Life in times of drought is made easier
Communities are able to plan and build infrastructure
The advantages of WaterAid
The combination of safe water, sanitation and hygiene education maximises health benefits
and promotes development. The combined benefits of these can reduce the number of
deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases by an average of 65%. A child dies every 17 seconds
from diseases associated with lack of access to safe water and adequate sanitation. In the
longer term, communities are able to plan and build infrastructures which enable them to
cope better in times of hardship.
How is it sustainable?
It is training local people to manage and maintain the system. This encourages the
community to invest in its own infrastructure and to continue their won development in
future.
Sustainability is about ensuring that water and sanitation services continue to work over
time. It's about developing the skills of communities, governments and local service
providers to manage finance and maintain services. And it's also about creating permanent
changes in hygiene practices through hygiene promotion programmes. First, sustainability
means selecting the right technology for the local situation.