Decentralized water systems fail after installation from maintenance, spare-parts and ownership gaps
#00053
The dominant failure mode of decentralized water infrastructure is not installation — it's what happens in year two and beyond. ~58% of handpumps in sub-Saharan Africa are non-functional at any time, representing $1.2–1.5B in stranded investment over two decades.
#00055Professionalized, results-based maintenance service paid for by uptime (not community self-management)
Replace volunteer committees with a professional maintenance company on a performance contract: hotline, guaranteed repair times (~3 days), preventive maintenance, and a stocked parts supply chain — funded by pooled mobile-money subscriptions and results-based payments tied to up
Kitui County, Kenyaregion