Resources

Groundwater underpins nearly half of global drinking water and is vital for climate‑resilient WASH services. Integrating groundwater into WASH planning, monitoring, and governance is essential to secure sustainable, safe water access.

Malawi’s 2023 Tropical Cyclone Freddy PDNA details $506.7M in damages, 2.2M people affected, GDP losses, and $680M in recovery needs—outlining impacts across housing, agriculture, infrastructure, and resilience planning.

BASEflow’s borehole insurance model combines flood-proofed handpumps with an endowment fund to cover future repairs—protecting rural water access from climate shocks and breaking the costly build-rebuild cycle.

BASEflow’s pilot in Jordani harnessed artesian water for agriculture, aquaculture, and clean supply—saving 59M+ liters, boosting land productivity by 314%, and generating income while curbing groundwater waste.

Discover how BASEflow’s flood-proofed Afridev handpumps restore safe water access in Malawi, reaching 7000 people with a cost-effective solution resilient to cyclones and flooding

Hydrological modeling in Malawi’s Shire River Basin reveals a steady groundwater decline since 1980. Stakeholder-informed simulations improve accuracy, offering vital insights for sustainable water management in data-scarce southern Africa.

Surveys in Southern Malawi reveal most rural water point failures stem from poor water resources and sub-standard borehole construction, not pump maintenance. Enforcing government standards before commissioning could reduce costs and improve reliability.

Malawi groundwater aquifer testing methods. Step-by-step procedures for pumping tests to assess hydraulic properties and sustainable yield.

Malawi groundwater database management. Guidelines for data entry, QA/QC, and reporting to support national water resource planning.

Malawi groundwater level monitoring standards. Techniques for manual and automated measurements to track aquifer health and trends.

Malawi groundwater monitoring borehole protocols. Best practices for drilling, casing, and well development to ensure accurate aquifer data collection.

Malawi groundwater permitting procedures for sustainable water use. Covers licensing, application processes, and WRB guidelines for equitable resource management.

Malawi groundwater production borehole standards. Guidelines for drilling methods, construction, and quality control to ensure efficient water supply systems.

Malawi groundwater sampling protocols. Procedures for collecting, handling, and analyzing water quality samples to ensure data accuracy.

Overview of Malawi’s four main aquifer types—regolith, basement, alluvial/fluvial, and sedimentary—based on surface geology and physiography, highlighting groundwater potential and regional hydrogeological characteristics.

BASEflow (Malawi) received an unqualified audit opinion for 2021, confirming fair presentation of financials in line with IFRS and international auditing standards, with no key audit matters noted.

BASEflow (Malawi) receives unqualified audit opinion for year ended 31 Dec 2022, confirming financial statements comply with IFRS and show fair performance under international audit standards.

Groundwater crisis in Malawi persists as families face water poverty, broken infrastructure, and weak collaboration. BASEflow responds in 2024 by rallying action under the banner: Groundwater Matters.

BASEflow's 2023 message reflects hope, resilience, and action. From strategic partnerships to flood-proofing innovation, discover how they’re safeguarding Malawi’s groundwater future in the face of climate uncertainty.

In 2022, BASEflow gained recognition for its groundwater work, responded to storm Ana’s damage in Malawi, and highlighted climate change as a growing water threat—setting the stage for bolder, resilience-focused action in 2023.

Independent auditor's report for BASEflow (Malawi) affirms fair financial statements for year ended 31 Dec 2023, with unqualified audit opinion under international standards.

Area Mechanics (AMs) repair hand pumps for Malawi's waterpoints. Trained locally, they use advanced skills to fill gaps left by WaterPoint Committees and District Water Development Offices, ensuring reliablecommunity-level services.

CBM training is given during water facility construction butoften forgotten or unused. Refresher training every few years ensurescommunities maintain facilities, express needs to governments, and reducesnon-functional facilities nationwide.

Establishes Water Boards to manage water supply and sewerage in designated areas. Grants powers for construction, service provision, rate setting, and enforcement, aiming for safe, efficient, and regulated water services across Malawi.

Groundwater in Malawi is vital for rural domestic andagricultural needs. Proper management is crucial, supported by 29 monitoringboreholes, set to expand by 100 in 5 years. This manual updates previousguidelines, adding monitoring aspects and new content.

In this dynamic world, strategic planning is an indispensable tool to guide implementation and execution of organizational strategies and activities in the medium and long-term basis.

Malawi aims for clean water access through infrastructure,community-led management, and Area Mechanics for advanced repairs, all key tosustainable systems under the Decentralization Policy and the Malawi Growth andDevelopment Strategy.

Malawi faces clean water challenges, worsened by inefficientrural water system maintenance. Community empowerment through decentralizedpolicies and borehole rehabilitation aims to improve operations and ensureaccess to safe drinking water nationwide.

Malawi must build infrastructure and institutional systemsfor clean water access. Community-based management and proper guidelines ensurerural water supply facilities are maintained, empowering local authorities andstakeholders for sustainable solutions.

Malawi's Vision 2063 aims to transform the nation into anindustrialized upper-middle-income country through agriculture,industrialization, and urbanization, emphasizing homegrown solutions, youthempowerment, and sustainability.

Malawi's population is divided into 3 region and 28 districts. Key water sector policies include the 2005 Water Policy and2012 Water Sector Investment Plan. These guide rural water supply and sanitation efforts aligned with Vision 2020 and MGDS.

Malawi's strategy aims to improve sanitation and hygiene,focusing on ending open defecation, menstrual hygiene, waste management, andbehavior change. It adopts a rights-based, community-driven approach withstrong coordination and sustainable practices.

Ruralwater supply faces sustainability challenges due to technical flaws andinefficient community management. This model leads to inequality, conflict, andweak social capital, urging donors to reconsider it and promote more effectivestate-led solutions.

The Afridev deepwell handpump is suitable for lifting water from depths of 10 m to 45 m. The Afridev is suitable for boreholes with casing sizes of nominal 100 mm, 115 mm, 127 mm, 150 mm or 200 mm internal diameter.

The Afridev deepwell handpump is suitable for lifting water from depths of 10 m to 45 m. The Afridev is suitable for boreholes with casing sizes of nominal 100 mm, 115 mm, 127 mm, 150 mm or 200 mm internal diameter.

The Government of Malawi recognises the important role that the water sector plays in the sustainable socio-economic development of the country. The sector has direct linkages with agriculture, industrial development, health, tourism, energy and more

The Malawi Government aims to sustainably manage rural watersystems to achieve universal access to safe water. Two pilot models, startingOctober 2023, will run for 24–60 months, informing policy and improving servicedelivery through collaborative efforts.

The National Water Policy ensures sustainable waterdevelopment, management, and sanitation aligned with Malawi 2063 and UN SDG 6goals, focusing on seven priorities like resource management, disaster risk,and inclusivity...

The National Water Resources Master Plan spans 9 volumes,including surface water, groundwater, water quality, supply, irrigation,capacity development, and integrated management. Key chapters cover disasters,erosion, conservation, and more.

The revised National Population Policy aims to managepopulation growth for improved living conditions. Aligned with Malawi 2063, ithighlights health, education, and workforce quality as crucial for development,urging multi-sectoral collaboration.

The training aims to boost WPC/VHWC members’ skills in managing water, sanitation, and hygiene through 3 phased workshops focused on planning, construction, and operation tasks, conducted individually and in combined group sessions.

This brief highlights findings from Malawi’s 2019/20 WASH public expenditure review by the Government of Malawi, supported by UNICEF and OPM, offering recommendations to improve efficiency, equity, and sustainabilityin WASH sector financing.

This document contains guidelines for the Constituency Development and Water Resources Fund (CDFWRF). Constituency Development Fund was first approved by Parliament in 2006/2007 fiscal year with a view to promote efforts towards poverty eradication.

This handbook offers methods for district-level planning ofrural water supply O&M in Malawi, focusing on empowering communities,ensuring timely repairs, accessing spare parts, and overcoming budgetconstraints to sustain effective service delivery.

This manual trains hand pump spare parts retail shop owners, covering Afridev pump parts, dismantling, reassembling, and entrepreneurship. It includes materials from InterAide, UNICEF, and SOMAP3, with sessions arranged into four sections over two days.