SafeManzi
Improving water services in Zambian schools and healthcare facilities
The Government of Zambia is working under Presidential directive to improve water services in schools and clinics across the country. In response, the University of Oxford and Uptime Global have co-designed SafeManzi - a results-based funding model for water service delivery in schools and healthcare facilities, tailored to the Zambian context. SafeManzi is a professional water service delivery model implemented through a results-based contract, with payments tied to specific performance metrics.
In 2024, the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Local Government and Rural Development, Education, Health, and Water, Sanitation and Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pilot this model in Mumbwa, one of Zambia's 116 districts. Based on the progress in the pilot phase, scale up activities will expand the work to the Provincial level for over 1,000 facilities in 2026. Working with cooperating partners in Zambia, the goal is for SafeManzi to be providing reliable and safely-managed drinking water to all rural schools and clinics by 2030.
Contact: Nancy Gladstone - nancy.gladstone@smithschool.ox.ac.uk
School waterpoint survey during SafeManzi pilot
Water quality testing
Selected resources
