2. Introduction 2.1 Situational Analysis
Kasungu District, situated in Malawi’ s Central Region, is predominantly agricultural, with a population of approximately 842,000 1. Similar to most districts in Malawi, Kasungu has high poverty rates, low-income levels, and problematic access to essential services such as education and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene( WASH) services. These challenges, compounded by weak infrastructure and major gaps in public service delivery have hindered the district’ s socio-economic progress. There has been, and continues to be, a strong link between WASH and education in Malawi, with Kasungu being a key focus for this report.
On education, the Government of Malawi’ s 2019 Education Sector analysis 2 reports that Kasungu has a high school dropout rate, driven by challenges such as long travel distances from homes, poor sanitation, and sociocultural norms including inequitable gender roles. The introduction of free primary education in the 1990s has continuously led to increased demand for secondary schooling, creating pressure for more staff, skills, and funding to meet these needs. These statistics can be reasonably compared with national data, as evidenced by available figures. According to EMIS( 2023), the 60 % transition target under the National Education Sector Investment Plan has not been met, with fewer than half of Standard 8 graduates( 47 % girls, 47.4 % boys) progressing to secondary school, largely due to social, financial, and material challenges. Dropout rates remain significant( 5 %), particularly among girls by Form 2, and only 22.3 % of youth under 18 complete secondary school( 24 % males, 20.6 % females).
In terms of WASH, infrastructure plays a huge role in Malawi. About 70 % of Kasungu’ s population has access to improved water sources, the majority of which are( however) constantly non-functional due to poor maintenance, a direct result of a lack of management institutions and access to spare parts. Additionally, a large portion of the population have to travel significant distances on a daily basis to access functioning water sources 3. The dependence on open and unsafe water sources in Malawi has been widely shown to negatively impact women and children much more than males due to prevailing gender roles, affecting health, school attendance, and household efficiency.
Rural clean water access in Malawi is 63 %, below the 67 % national coverage. Despite government and NGO efforts, school hygiene campaigns have limited reach, and WASH challenges persist. Most facilities lack privacy, sanitation, and menstrual hygiene systems, with under 25 % providing private spaces or proper disposal, affecting participation in school. Studies have shown that in both urban and rural areas, up to 89 % of girls and about 66 % of boys are responsible for water collection, with 68 % of girls doing so on a daily basis compared to only 32 % of boys. As a result, up to 10 % of girls and 6 % of boys reported lateness or absence from school due to water-fetching responsibilities, covering distances in excess of 5 kilometres in some situations. Beyond attendance issues, 35 % of children reported suffering from physical health problems resulting from carrying heavy water loads. A UNESCO study noted that access to clean water and sanitation in schools improves attendance, especially for adolescent girls during menstruation. 4 A significant portion of daily time and engagement in activities related to income-generation is therefore directly influenced by water sources.
1
NSO 2018
2
GoM Malawi Education Sector Analysis, 2019
3
WASH Analysis by district
4
UNESCO( 2010): Global Education Monitoring Report
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