Comparative evaluation of the cost of water in northern Malawi: from rural water wells to science education

Worldwide, improved sources of drinking water are still lacking for 663 million people. With Malawi as a case study, we aim to address the scarcity of data available to understand the full cost and options of drinking water at a regional level covering both urban and rural areas. We studied options in the northern region of Malawi under the following thematic areas: urban piped water, water wells, handpump spare part supply networks, household point-of-use water treatment, the cost of entering a water business and capacity building in science education. Primary locally sourced data were collected as well as secondary publically available data. Additionally, local markets were surveyed for spare part networks. This research has shown that when looking at water resource economics in northern Malawi, it is not a monopoly and options are available at a range of costs. The data challenge policy-makers to reach the last 10% of the population still lacking improved drinking water. This will require a combination of expansion of urban piped water infrastructure, new boreholes in rural areas, increased handpump functionality rates, scale-up of household drinking water point-of-use treatment and growth of local universities to train local experts within the sector.