Community participation in promoting sustainable water supply and its impact on morbidity and child mortality: a case study of Lindi rural and Liwale district, Tanzania.

Sustainability of water supply through community involvement and its impact on morbidity and child mortality is the main study attempt. The rural area are subjected to low population water coverage associated with non functioning and non utilization of utilities in water supply sector. Women walk for distances seeking and collecting contaminated water and individuals resolve to drinking contaminated water that leads to communicable diseases and frequent epidemics disease and frequent epidemics such as cholera. Also the existing management as well, failed to create sufficient and good quality water for community use. All these impode human health and productivity in the community. The sustainability of community water supply as indicated by functioning of water schemes/ pointsis qualified and its impact on morbidity as indicated by common discuss in the family and number of deaths of infants and children of under-five years of age is identified. Water quality analysis chi-square test and multiple regression analyses were used to identify and qualify measures of sustainable water supply and their impact on morbidity and child mortality. Community participation in water schemes/ Resources Management Model is suggested. This provides an interlink between community participation and water scheme resource management for community owned scheme ‘resource. Proper implementation of the model is the criteria that can establish safe sustainable water supply in rural areas which in turn will lower morbidity and child mortality and hence creating a healthy community. It is shown that community participation in water schemes management through village water committees that involve women at an equal higher with participation of community in manual work in water production have significant influence on functioning of water scheme which promotes sustainability of water supply within the community. Other strategies identified to raise the functioning of water schemes as well as lowering morbidity of diseases associated with water and child deaths within the community were; proper technology on choice of schemes, number and location preferably within 500 meters , maintenance and running cost and who finances it, reduced water bill, quantity of water consumed daily preferable 60 liters and above, availability and number of natural springs ranging from 1 to 3, other water sources in the village that are protected from poor human activities that contaminate the water and occupation of villagers. Among several recommendations made in this study are establishment of National water supply and Sanitation Development Board, Community water supply and sanitation Team, National water Supply Research unity and Rural Water Donor Support and International Agency. The recommended bodies when working as team with Village Water Sanitation Committee will ensure water sustainability in rural areas.