Standardization (or: On Crazy Pumps)

Quite a few people seemed to have liked my post on the Playpump a while ago, so I thought I’d share something else.

I was just taking a look at a large data set from a general survey of waterpoint functionality in Malawi, covering most of the country. The survey was completed in 2005. While I was looking at the data, I decided it would be fun to analyze functionality by pump type. Here is what it showed.

Type of Pump	# of Functional	# of Not Functional	Total #	Functionality Rate	Percent Difference from Average
Afridev	17354	4441	21795	79.6%	17.7%
India mark	210	71	281	74.7%	10.5%
Malda	887	333	1220	72.7%	7.5%
Nira	115	54	169	68.0%	0.6%
Vergnet	103	50	153	67.3%	-0.5%
National Mark V	1829	989	2818	64.9%	-4.0%
Maldev	16	10	26	61.5%	-9.0%
Aquadev	53	34	87	60.9%	-9.9%
Climax	107	315	422	25.4%	-62.5%
Total or Average	28912	13840	42752	67.6%	-5.6%

 

[Disclaimer: the above information is not an official release of anything by anybody. It’s just me goofing around with pivot tables.]

 

Despite the relatively low functionality rate, the data is still actually fairly promising. Why? Because Malawi has a new handpump standardization policy, which indicates that all new pumps installed in the country must be either Afridev or Malda – at least the two that were chosen are up at the top of the list.

 

The reason for the policy is to make spare part supply chains more viable (by increasing the volume of demand), to make repairs easier (because mechanics now only have to learn to fix two kinds of pumps), and to ensure that pumps installed are affordably priced and relatively good quality (as far as I know both Afridev and Malda pumps meet these criteria).

 

So there it is. It seems like the last thing Malawi needs is a new and improved kind of pump. The challenge, in my mind at least, is to get these regulated pumps out to more communities, and to improve systems for regular maintenance. Thoughts?