The Zimbabwe ExperienceLessons from a review of 15 years of theZimbabwe Integrated Rural Water Supply andSanitation ProgrammeField NoteSouth Asia RegionWater andSanitationProgramAn internationalpartnership to helpthe poor gain sustainedaccess to improvedwater supply andsanitation services21Notably in government institutions such as the Blair Research Laboratory and Agritex2Communal and resettlement areas cover all rural areas except commercial farms and estates3One United States Dollar (US$) = 54.95 Zimbabwe dollar (as on 20 May 2002)4The period discussed in this field note generally predates the political, economic and social crises that Zimbabwe has recentlybeen experiencing5The content of the fieldnote is largely based on an evaluation of the IRWSSP carried out by the Zimbabwe Institute of Water and SanitationDevelopment (IWSD) in 1999Blair Latrines in order to achieve universal coverage.Today, only three years remain for the IRWSSP tomeet its targets. Sadly, despite the advantageousinitial conditions, and a total investment of over Z$1 billion during the more than 15 years ofimplementation, it is clear that the main objectivesof the IRWSSP are unlikely to be met. Nevertheless,the IRWSSP had some successes, and its storycontains valuable lessons for water supply andsanitation practitioners.The opening sections of this field note examinethe context within which the IRWSSP took place, thenchart its evolution, and detail its performance duringthe period 1985-994. There follows a discussion ofthe approaches used by the program, and of chancesseized and opportunities lost along the way. The fieldnote closes by summarizing the positive experiencesand lessons that can be drawn from the IRWSSP, andby examining their relevance to decentralized ruralwater supply and sanitation programs in otherAfrican states5.BackgroundThe happy coincidence of Zimbabwes independence in 1980with the start of the International Drinking Water Supply andSanitation Decade, and the readily available domesticexpertise in low-cost Rural Water Supply and Sanitation(RWSS) technologies (see Box 1), provided an ideal basisfor the rapid expansion of the countrys rural water supplyand sanitation infrastructure.Prior to independence, successes in Zimbabwes RWSSsector tended to be the work of small, relatively efficientgovernment units, working largely independently in theirspecialist fields. As a result, the knowledge and skills requiredfor a large-scale national program were distributed betweenseveral ministries. The government recognized this problem,and commissioned the National Master Plan for Rural WaterSupplies and Sanitation (NMP) to examine ways of improvinginter-ministerial coordination within a national framework.When completed in 1985, the NMP provided a detailedanalysis of the RWSS sector in Zimbabwe, and incorporatedthe latest thinking on the planning, implementation andmanagement of RWSS programs.The Integrated Rural Water Supply and SanitationProgramme (IRWSSP) was conceived in the positiveand supportive environment that followedZimbabwes independence. In 1980, the newgovernment had massive public support, and wasstrongly committed to redressing pre-independenceimbalances by redirecting resources towards therural areas. Zimbabwe had also inherited well-managed central Ministries, which held valuablewater and sanitation experience accumulated duringthe development of low-cost rural technologiesduring the 1970s1. In addition, External SupportAgencies (ESAs) were queuing up to provide fundsfor reconstruction and development. The time wasripe for these innovative technologies to be rolledout in national programs, and the IRWSSP wasdesigned to do just that.Initiated in the mid 1980s, the IRWSSP aimed toprovide the entire population of Zimbabwescommunal and resettlement areas2 with access tosafe and adequate water and sanitation facilitiesby the year 2005. The program also planned tomobilize communities, transfer technical andorganizational skills, and establish centralizedoperation and maintenance systems. The 1985National Master Plan for Rural Water Supply andSanitation (NMP) estimated that the IRWSSP wouldcost Z$ 700 million3, and would need to construct some35,000 primary water supply systems and 1.4 million3The NMP set out ambitious goals for the IRWSSP,specifying that the following service levels should beprovided to the entire communal and resettlement areapopulation by 2005: 100% population to have access to safe drinking waterfrom a protected primary water supply within 500m oftheir home 100% households to have (at least) a Blair VIP latrineOne of the fundamental principles outlined in the NMPwas to become the basis of the IRWSSP. Namely, that waterHomegrown RWSS technologiesZimbabwe is the home of several important rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) technologies, including theBush Pump, the Upgraded Family Well, and the Blair Latrine. Of these, the Blair (or VIP) Latrine has had the mostimpact, both domestically and internationally. Its key feature is a screened ventilation pipe, which controls the fliesand odors commonly found in unventilated pit latrines6, and suggests its more familiar name, the Ventilated ImprovedPit (VIP) Latrine.Developed and tested at the Blair Research Laboratory between 1973 - 75, the Blair (VIP) Latrine was adoptedimmediately by the Ministry of Health, and tens of thousands of the latrines were installed within the first few years ofimplementation. Many variants of the original design have followed, and recent estimates suggest that there are nowmore than 500,000 VIP Latrines in Zimbabwe alone. Today, the Blair (VIP) Latrine is popular with users, technocratsand politicians  its construction and use are even part of the school curricula. The technology is simple, effectiveand durable, and more than twenty five years after its development, the Blair (VIP) latrine remains a source ofnational pride, and a status symbol for many rural households.Zimbabwes experience demonstrates that innovative technology development does not have to depend onexternal support. By creating a supportive environment and by funding local research, Zimbabwes scientists wereable to apply their expertise in the field, and went on to develop globally recognized rural technologies well suited tolocal conditions.Adapted