Rural water and sanitation programme in Morogoro and Shinyanga regions : a study on women involvement in the implementation of the programme

This study aims to examine women's involvement in the Morogoro/Shinyanga Rural Water and Sanitation Programme in Tanzania. It also endeavours to view village level operation and maintenance (VLOM) from the women's point of view. This was done by conducting questionnaires with 16 men and 16 women from eight villages on the problems found in the villages and views on how they could be solved; women's position at both household and village level, and their involvement in the programme. As far as the water and sanitation programme is concerned, three problem areas were identified: a. technical (quantity in relation to the number of the population served and proximity to the users, and quality); b. financial, including lack of spare parts; c. organizational, difficulties in realizing self sustaining projects. Women's involvement in the Water and Sanitation Programme had been limited to activities related to the construction and/or keeping water points clean. There were few caretakers and not a single woman was a village mechanic. If not clearly defined, the participation of women in the water and sanitation programme may result in an increase of the women's workload rather than a reduction. The penultimate chapter of the report provides an overview of the experiences of four other water programmes in Tanzania from the point of view of women's involvement.