WASH Observes Steady Decline In WASH Social Sector Budget

Zambia NGO WASH Forum has observed that there has been a steady decline in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) budget as a share of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 0.2%, which is below the 0.5% eThekwini commitment that the country is party to.

Forum Member Chama Mundia noted that while total allocations to the social sector have risen to K73 billion from K60 billion as per International Monetary Fund (IMF) commitments, a significant portion is targeted towards social protection programs to address the cash needs of communities affected by the 2023/2024 drought.

Ms. Mundia said the organization has observed with concern the 3 percent allocation of WASH programmes in the overall 2025 social sector budget, despite being listed as a key social sector in Zambia’s agreement with the IMF.

“The decline is even more glaring when the WASH budget is presented as a share of the total budget. While nominally increasing from K1.8 billion to K2.3 billion, the WASH share of the budget has dropped from 2.5% of the national budget in 2020 to 1.1% in 2025,” Ms. Mundia stated.

Ms. Mundia was speaking when making a joint submission on the 2025 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation to the Committee on Energy, Water Development, and Tourism for the financial year ending 31st December 2025.

Representing other members, she emphasized that the Forum is of the considered view that WASH is not simply a social necessity but critical to unlocking the economic potential of the country and must, therefore, be prioritized.

Mr. Mundia said underinvestment in WASH has far-reaching implications for the nation’s economic progress, adding that a case in point is the negative impact of water-borne diseases on GDP.

“The Forum further noted that allocation to Water Resources Development has commendably increased from K338 million in 2023 to K813 million in 2025, likely driven by the drought and the need to support economic development through productive utilization of water resources.”

“Further, allocation to sanitation has also increased to K714 million. However, the Forum expressed concern that while 85 percent of the nation relies on On-Site Sanitation, financing is tilted to community-led total Sanitation, resulting in limited sanitation interventions. The decreased allocation to the Water supply sub-program was also highlighted,” she asserted.

Meanwhile, Pemba Member of Parliament Lameck Hamwaata expressed mixed feelings about next year’s national budget.

The theme of the K217.1 billion 2025 national budget is “Building Resilience for Inclusive Growth and Improved Livelihoods.”