PACR

PACR of a project (4/86-6/92) to increase the potable water supply in Central Tunisia. Designed to address problems that had plagued earlier rural potable water programs in Central Tunisia -- water point selection based on political criteria rather than need, waste of energy and water, a high frequency of water system breakdowns, and a lack of health education -- the project achieved its stated objectives, and its implementation mostly by indigenous personnel provides a model for future development interventions in Tunisia and elsewhere. The project succeeded in establishing a coordinated, decentralized institutional approach to rural water operations; it introduced a multi-disciplinary, equity-based site selection methodology and reduced water system operation inefficiencies by promoting community participation through water user associations (WUAs) and user fees. The WUAs became the focus for a variety of health education interventions and for increasing the role of women in decisionmaking. The project successfully completed all of its construction objectives, including the drilling of 30 new boreholes, extension of four existing potable water systems, and a pilot project of ho

Source: DEC abstract, PD-ABF-982 (1993). The source's own text.