In Madagascar, Improved Water and Sanitation Are Building Blocks of Change

Alex Fischer, of WaterAid, along with partners at Columbia University, recently made an extensive field visit to Madagascar in the hopes of observing and measuring the benefits of improvements in water and sanitation. In the New Security Beat, Fisher reports that, while most studies focus on costs saved in health treatment resulting from water and sanitation, his visit illuminated even greater implications:

“…our field visits and analysis suggest that water and sanitation development projects can also improve food security, education, and local community governance, and may even introduce new forms of conflict resolution.”

Fischer observed that the new access to water led to the creation of committees to oversee the services, which in turn increased stability within the community. The infrastructure of the committees created a platform from which other community projects could be commenced- for example, the building of a schoolhouse or of a food storage facility. Furthermore, Fischer noted that food security increased with access to water, as farmers could reliably produce crops that had previously been out of reach. Ultimately, Fischer’s observations point to increased security, stability, and efficacy within the communities.

Future studies are needed to further quantify the far-reaching effects of water and sanitation improvements, Fischer concludes, with the hope that:

“…governments, donors, NGOs, and private citizens will see that these projects are not just investments in pipelines and latrines, but in food security, governance, education, economies, and conflict resolution—all of which contribute to human dignity and security.”