Mapping Malawi’s budget decision-making for rural WASH service delivery

The stalled decentralisation of Malawi’s rural water sector has left local government with demands that far outweigh its available resources. Through a unique advocacy strategy, WASH Catalysts conducted research to gain insight into the people, procedures and interactions that determine rural water sector funding decisions. This paper highlights the strategy deployed by our advocacy campaign to overcome challenges in decentralisation by mapping information and budget flows among a wide distribution of decision-makers and ministries. Our findings suggest that the promotion of direct support for operation and maintenance of water points in Malawi will require bridging disconnect between key ministries involved in decision-making. Ultimately, clarifying the role of each relevant stakeholder is the first step in holding them accountable to providing effective and sustainable rural water sector budgets.