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The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) has produced continent-wide analysis of many aspects of Africa's infrastructure challenge. The main findings were synthesized in a flagship report titled Africa's Infrastructure: a time for transformation, published in November 2009. Meant for policy makers, that report necessarily focused on the high-level conclusions. It attracted widespread media coverage feeding directly into discussions at the 2009 African Union Commission Heads of State Summit on Infrastructure. Although the flagship report served a valuable role in highlighting the main findings of the project, it could not do full justice to the richness of the data collected and technical analysis undertaken. There was clearly a need to make this more detailed material available to a wider audience of infrastructure practitioners. Hence the idea of producing four technical monographs, such as this one, to provide detailed results on each of the major infrastructure sectors, information and communication technologies (ICT), power, transport, and water, as companions to the flagship report. These technical volumes are intended as reference books on each of the infrastructure sectors. They cover all aspects of the AICD project relevant to each sector, including sector performance, gaps in financing and efficiency, and estimates of the need for additional spending on investment, operations, and maintenance. Each volume also comes with a detailed data appendix, providing easy access to all the relevant infrastructure indicators at the country level, which is a resource in and of itself.

More than 1 billion people around the world live without access to safe, potable water, in part because of poor governance and corruption. Illegal connections and substantial losses caused by deferred maintenance have eroded the revenues of water utilities, leading to a downward spiral in performance. Embezzlement of funds, bribes for access to illegal water connections, manipulation of meter counters, and collusion in public contracts add to the litany of corrupt practices. 'Improving Transparency, Integrity, and Accountability in Water Supply and Sanitation' is a useful tool for diagnosing, analyzing, and remedying systemic corruption in the water supply and sanitation sectors. It will serve as a practical guide for governments; utility regulators, managers, and staff; civil society organizations; contractors; and citizens in their quest for a model of service provision that responds to the pressing needs of people in the developing world. The book aims to increase the involvement of civil society by engaging all stakeholders in setting priorities and monitoring performance; help water and sanitation delivery contribute to poverty reduction by increasing the service quality and coverage provided by service delivery organizations to poorer communities on an equitable basis; provide a tool that promotes the financial sustainability of service delivery organizations, thus building stakeholders' confidence in those institutions' ability to expand and improve service; and raise ethical standards among all stakeholders, especially service delivery organizations, thereby instilling a sense of public service in these organizations.

The comprehensive approach advocated in the 1993 water strategy is highly relevant to the sound and sustainable management of water resources. And implementing the strategy has advanced the Bank ' s corporate goals and mission, contributing to an emerging global consensus on water resource management. But that implementation, though broad, has been partial and uneven, with big differences across regions, countries, and subsectors. Work remains to adapt the strategy to diverse country contexts and to link water resource management to sustainable service delivery.

The amount of available water has been constant for millennia, but over time the planet has added 6 billion people. Water is essential to human life and enterprise, and the increasing strains on available water resources threaten the mission of institutions dedicated to economic development. The ultimate goal is to achieve a sustainable balance between the resources available and the societal requirement for water. In this evaluation the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) examines all the water-related projects financed by the World Bank between fiscal 1997 and the end of calendar 2007. Bank activities related to water are large, growing, and integrated. They include water resources management, water supply and sanitation, and activities related to agricultural water, industrial water, energy generation, and water in the environment. Through both lending and grants, the World Bank (the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or IBRD) has supported countries in many water-related sectors. This evaluation examines the full scope of that support over the period from fiscal 1997 to the end of calendar 2007. More than 30 background studies prepared for the evaluation have analyzed Bank lending by thematic area and by activity type. The evaluation is by definition retrospective, but it identifies changes that will be necessary going forward, including those related to strengthening country-level institutions and increasing financial sustainability.

This paper presents a user-centred design method for developing prototype housing designs in the Paipe community of Abuja, Nigeria, addressing the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). UCD is a qualitative methodology that prioritises end users in the design process. This study employs qualitative methods to collect data through interviews, field surveys, and site analysis using a single case study. The UCD approach was used to develop a profile of residents and identify their needs and preferences. Thematic analysis of the data led to the creation of design specifications and prototype designs. Two design options were developed: a cluster design based on field survey observations and an enclosed modern design based on residents’ preferences. This study contends that user-centred design (UCD) is essential for sustainable housing provision in LMICs, aligning with the United Nations’ adequate-housing programme.

Alongside peace, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources and social justice, shelter is a prerequisite for health. According to international human rights law, everyone is entitled to an adequate standard of living, which includes adequate housing. Adequate housing, including access to water and sanitation, plays a critical role in the prevention and management of neglected tropical diseases, which affect over 1 billion people worldwide. Inadequate housing conditions represent a risk factor for many of them, e.g., Chagas disease that affects 6–8 million people worldwide, visceral leishmaniasis that kills 20,000–30,000 people/year, lymphatic filariasis which threatens 859 million people worldwide or dengue that has increased 8–10 fold over the last two decades. Vector control strategies for the above-mentioned diseases have shown their effectiveness and should include systematic and repetitive in-house spraying and individual protection (e.g., impregnated nets), as well as better-quality construction material and techniques and better sanitation infrastructures and practices. Access to adequate housing is a basic human right. The violation of the right to adequate housing may affect the enjoyment of other human rights. Access to adequate housing can strengthen (and facilitate access to) other basic human rights, such as the rights to work, health, security, and education.

To restore dignity to the previously denied and neglected majority black South Africans, one of the salient provisions of the Constitution, pieces of legislation, and policies that seek to ensure the provision and delivery of ample housing to the poor and the indigent is the right to access adequate housing with constitutional and strategic legislative and policy obligations to ensure that the state provides, fulfils, and delivers houses to the poor, the needy, the vulnerable, and the indigent without fail. Methodologically, employing a literature review approach, this study examined and employed relevant publications, case laws, constitutional provisions, and policies related to the right to access adequate housing. The goal was to determine the level at which the duty to protect, provide, and deliver adequate housing to poor individuals, as stipulated by the entities and institutions responsible for executing this constitutional mandate, has been fulfilled.

Aspects of adequate housing encompass affordability, habitability, accessibility, location, cultural appropriateness, and accessibility of resources such as services, materials, utilities, and infrastructure. Migrant settlement and housing issues in Malaysia have been a persistent problem for many years. Numerous migrants are compelled to live in cramped and unsafe circumstances due to various factors, including a lack of living space, inadequate government policies, and social stigma. Surprisingly, the housing aspect of integrating regular migrants has received little focus than other integration efforts. Both locals and migrants are impacted by this apathy and vulnerability. Key guiding principles that support the right to a reasonable standard of living, which includes sufficient housing, are found in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Therefore, this article aims to explore the issues and challenges of migrants’ settlement in Malaysia’s urban area and propose suggestions to reduce the settlement issue among migrants. Correspondingly, this study employed a qualitative methodology that combined a thorough literature review with semi-structured interviews and subsequent thematic analysis. The findings show that uncomfortable living conditions for locals and overcrowding are major issues in migrant settlements. Five strategies are suggested to address these issues: creating housing cooperatives and modular dwellings; transforming emergency housing into long-term solutions; and reusing accessible derelict buildings.Received:2024-02-13 Revised:2024-02-23 Accepted:  2025-04-14 Published: 2025-04-27

Ready‐to‐use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) therapy is a standard protocol for treating children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) admitted in Out‐Patient Therapeutic Programmes (OTP). The amount of RUTF to be consumed by a child is based on weight (200 kcal/kg body weight/day) as stipulated in the Kenya Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) protocol for timely weight gain. There is limited information on the determinants of consumption of the correct amount of RUTF. This study sought to fill this gap by establishing the associations between the caregivers' and the child's characteristics and the amount of RUTF the child ate within a 24‐h recall period. We used a cross‐sectional study design and interviewed 200 caregivers of children 6–23 months of age admitted in four OTP centers in Nairobi Kenya. We used a researcher‐administered questionnaire to collect information from the caregivers. Seventy‐three percent of the children ate the recommended amount of RUTF. A smaller proportion (54.4%) of younger children (6–11 months of age) ate the recommended amount of RUTF compared to older children (12–17 months old and 18–23 months old at 89.1% and 82.8%, respectively). The predictors of consumption of the correct amount of RUTF were child's birth order—firstborn (AOR 29.92; 95% CI: 5.67–157.93) and children's age; 12–17 months old (AOR 5.19; 95% CI: 2.18–12.36) and 18–23 months (AOR 6.19 95% CI: 2.62), indicating that firstborn and older children were more likely to consume the correct amounts of RUTF. Caregivers' knowledge and correct practices in feeding a child with RUTF also predicted the consumption of the correct amount of RUTF. In conclusion, maternal and child characteristics are determinants of the consumption of the correct amount of RUTF by children in OTP. Two‐hundred caregivers were assessed, where 73% of the children consumed the recommended amount of RUTF. A smaller proportion (54.4%) of children aged 6–11 months consumed the recommended amount of RUTF compared to older children. Predictors of amount of RUTF intake were child's birth order—firstborn (AOR 29.92; 95% CI: 5.67–157.93) and children's age; 12–17 months (AOR 5.19; 95% CI: 2.18–12.36) and 18–23 months (AOR 6.19 95% CI: 2.62) and caregivers' knowledge and practices in feeding a child with RUTF.