ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Current State and Future Prospects
of Water and Sanitation Services in East Africa:
The Case of Rwanda
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1
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Guiyang, Guizhou, 550002, China
2
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3
School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, China
4
Water and Sanitation Officer, Rwanda-Local Government, Rwanda
5
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji university, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
6
School of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Guizhou Minzu University 550025, China
Submission date: 2021-10-29
Final revision date: 2022-05-23
Acceptance date: 2022-06-22
Online publication date: 2022-12-29
Publication date: 2023-01-12
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2023;32(1):821-832
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ABSTRACT
Water and sanitation are the essences of sustainable development, as evidenced by the wide
variety of services they offer. Developing countries must be concerned with the way in which they
provide water and sanitation services to the general public. This review paper was intended to evaluate
the condition of water and sanitation services in Rwanda by comparing the actual performance of water
and sanitation in different communities for durable development. In this paper, the reviewing process
was based on open access papers and documents that used water supply or sanitation as a keyword.
In addition, a field survey coupled with onsite interviews in some regions was also conducted. According
to the findings, 87% and 86% of the entire population in Rwanda access water and sanitation services
from drinking water sources and sanitation facilities that are improved, respectively. This implies
that advances in people’s living conditions follow the expansion of water and sanitation services.
However, settlement style and financial concerns are considered to be the most significant impediments
to the achievement of the aim of comprehensive coverage for water and sanitation services.
This study suggests the government continues accelerating sustainable water and sanitation services to
citizens by outlining the main hindrances to sanitation services and providing sustainable solutions for
sustainable development.