Investigating handpump and borehole failure in Uganda
Community-management has been the mainstay of rural water supplies in Africa, and in many other parts of the world, but is it the only way? Are there better alternatives? In this lively webinar, researchers from the UPGro Hidden Crisis project…
Read More Debating real-world community-based management of water points
Professor Alan MacDonald (BGS/UPGro Hidden Crisis and GroFutures) gave a talk at a recent TEDx event at Heriot Watt University in Scotland. Watch it on YouTube:
Survey results of rural water points in Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi presented to government ministry chiefs 'Functionality' of a water point is more than a binary is water flow at the time of inspection? YES/NO Government partners see the value in how the research can improve monitoring and evaluation of rural water supplies
Why might it be that in Uganda waterpoint committees,as envisaged on paper, seldom exist as such on the ground? 1. Trying to separate water from the rest of village life 2. Does a water-point really need a 7 person committee? 3. Why would anyone volunteer?
New UPGro paper “The need for a standard approach to assessing the functionality of rural community water supplies” by Helen Bonsor, Alan MacDonald, Vincent Casey, Richard Carter and Paul Wilson. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-017-1711-0 The Sustainable Development Goals have set an agenda for…
Read More Call for standard approach to assessing water supply functionality
by Naomi Oates, Grantham institute, UPGro Hidden Crisis My first impressions of Malawi? It is hot! Temperatures are reaching 37°C in Balaka district at the moment. Around midday it is particularly difficult to move around in the scorching sun – much…
UPGro Ambassador gives 2017 Ineson Lecture at the Geological Society of London and makes the case for the economic importance of Africa’s aquifers
Once again, UPGro has a strong presence at the annual congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, which this year is in Dubrovnik, Croatia. UPGro highlights this year include: T2.2. THE ROLE OF GROUNDWATER IN REDUCING POVERTY Conveners: Alan Macdonald…
Agenda for Change is a collaboration of organisations who recognise we can achieve more by working together. Launched in May 2015 by Aguaconsult, IRC, WaterAid, Water For People and Osprey Foundation, Agenda For Change sets out what we think we…
Read More Agenda for Change: UPGro influencing systems thinking on WASH services
The latest output from the UPGro programme comes from Cambridge University as part of the “Hidden Crisis; Unravelling past failures for future success in Rural Water Supply” and examines the role of system-based analysis in understanding the root causes of…
Read More New – Water point failure in sub-Saharan Africa: the value of a systems thinking approach
UPGro - African Groundwater 2020 