Sustaining HESAWA in Mwanza region, Tanzania

The HESAWA (Health through Sanitation and Water) programme was implemented by the Government of Tanzania with financial support from Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency). It reached some 3,000,000 people in the Lake Zone between 1985 and 2002. Since 2002, the Tanzanian stakeholders strive to sustain and replicate the benefits of HESAWA without specific external support. This paper gives a picture of the situation in Mwanza Region 2002 - 2005. It suggests that the overall performance is largely in line with expectations, but with some interesting deviations such as the sustained commitment by most water user groups and regional and district administration. From this can be drawn some lessons for the future for the HESAWA stakeholders, and for other programmes planning for phasing out and sustainability. In particular, usefulness of careful institution building and human resources development at all levels.