Malawi - Lilongwe Water and Sanitation Project

Overview & Synopsis

Ratings of the Lilongwe Water and Sanitation Project for Malawi were as follows: outcome was highly satisfactory; Bank performance was satisfactory; M&E quality was high. Lessons learned highlight that infrastructure investments must be complemented by operational improvements and institutional capacity building to achieve effective and sustainable water services, including integrating water supply and sanitation service delivery and establishing revenue mechanisms that sustain service quality and customer satisfaction. Urban sanitation challenges require adaptive, citywide, and inclusive approaches that combine centralized sewerage with decentralized on-site solutions, implemented alongside water supply improvements to maximize health, resilience, and equity benefits; future operations should plan simultaneous investments in water and sanitation to amplify human development outcomes. Building resilience to external shocks in project design is essential; contingency planning, flexible contract provisions, procurement agility, pre-ordering of critical materials, and identification of alternative suppliers should be embedded from the outset, with the option to mobilize additional financing to absorb cost escalations without compromising scope. Gender mainstreaming strengthens service responsiveness and institutional performance; clear gender targets, leadership and technical training for female staff, and the design of public facilities with safety and dignity features should be systematically incorporated to improve equity and operational effectiveness. Recommendations include institutionalizing integrated service delivery frameworks supported by cost-recovery tariffs, adopting citywide inclusive sanitation models aligned with water expansion, formalizing risk management and flexibility measures in procurement and contracts, and setting and tracking gender objectives with capacity-building actions to sustain outcomes.