Operationalising district hand pump mechanic associations: a case of Uganda

Although a lot of effort and initiatives have been put in place, the issue of functionality of hand pumps in Uganda is still a big challenge currently at 83%. The non-functional hand pumps are reported to be spread all over the Districts of the country. The main reasons for the low functionality of the hand pumps were identified as lack of effective hand pump mechanics in the communities to repair the hand pumps coupled with lack of spare parts. A need was therefore identified to support the user communities to ensure sustainable use and maintenance of the rural hand pumps, One of the key areas was ensuring well trained and coordinated District hand pump mechanics associations (DHPMA) to carry out preventive and minor repairs on the hand pumps. The paper looks at: the formation of DHPMAs, efforts taken to operationalise them in the Districts, challenges and lessons learnt.