Only 30 percent of residents in a small Madagascar community have access to clean water
Through International Development Association (IDA) financing, a private company is increasing access and supporting improved livelihoods
Not only are residents benefitting, but business is growing
AMBOHIJANAKA, August 20, 2009 -- In Madagascar, where only 36 percent of the rural population has access to potable water, drawing water is often a duty for women and children. Walking one hour to collect clean water is customary, and quantity is limited.
“Before Sandandrano operated in our village, we had to walk 15 minutes to get to the water point, and the same time to come back home,” said Lila, a teenager living in Ambohijanaka, a small, rural village outside Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo. “We could bring back home only two buckets full of water, because it was a hard job to climb the valley with them.”
Just 17 kilometers outside the capital, the case of Ambohijanaka’s residents is common across this island nation. Only 124,722 households out of a total population of 19 million people have access to state-provided water.
“Among the 15,803 inhabitants who are living here, only 30 percent of the households are connected to the commercial network of JIRAMA, the national company in charge of water distribution,” says Alain Ratsimbazafy, Ambohijanaka’s mayor.
A private company built on visionÂ
In 2004, the vision of a 50-year-old engineer, who specialized in water, changed Ambohijanaka’s lot. Through the World Bank’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Pilot Project (RWSS), implemented by the Malagasy Government from 1998 to 2005, Gerald Razafinjato received a 53,000 Euro (US$64,130) grant to improve the water distribution network in Ambohijanaka and other rural areas around Madagascar’s capital. The amount allowed his company Sandandrano to finance the installation of 14 kilometers of pipelines, representing 80 percent of the village’s total network.
Today, according to its founder, Sandandrano has invested 140,000 Euros (US$181,000) of its own money in Ambohijanaka, operations are profitable and 200 individual connections have been set-up benefitting at least 4,000 people. Because households then resell water to other households, it is estimated that an additional 2,000 people are benefitting.
According to Razafinjato, his company’s goal is to provide water in the quantity and quality required by the population’s needs. The water he provides is held to international standards for health and drinkability by an independent laboratory, and village authorities are now discussing an expansion of the networks managed by JIRAMA and Sandandrano in order to increase access to clean water for the village population.
“Sandandrano changed the life of Ambohijanaka,” said Hery Andriamahefarivo, president of the village’s Municipal Council. “People, but also economical activities, benefited from its service.”
In addition to providing households with clean water, the company has also served as a catalyst for other businesses to expand in the village.
“Some people invested in chicken farming, and other planters became providers for vegetable exporters [as a result of access to clean water],” Mayor Ratsimbazafy said.
Julie Ana Heriniaina is one of the small business owners taking advantage of the village’s access to water. In 2007, Heriniaina received an individual water connection and began planting flowers. Today, her flowers are sold in the markets of Antananarivo, or are used by institutions as ornaments during public events. She also began pig farming, fish farming, and is about to buy a milking cow.Â
“All this was possible only because access to water was granted by Sandandrano,” said Heriniaina. “My daily need is currently around 1,500 liters. Can you imagine if we had to walk one hour and bringing only two buckets each time like we used to do before.”
World Bank involvementÂ
The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Pilot Project (RWSS) was the first of several projects the World Bank is supporting in Madagascar to improve water quality and sanitation. The currently active IGP Project is financing infrastructure to increase potable water to households in two cities: Tolagnaro and Nosy Be. A separate nutrition project, the National Community Nutrition Program, includes a sanitation education component.
According to officials, Sandandrano is a good example of a strong public-private partnership leading to improved livelihoods.
“Development is first of all about people who are seeing their lives improving in areas such as education, health or income,” said Ruth Kagia, World Bank Country Director for Madagascar. “The example of Sandandrano shows that doing business in a profitable way is possible in rural areas, while providing an essential service to the population. I encourage the private sector to seize this opportunity to bring its contribution to the development of the country.”
RSS