The Ministry of Water and Sanitation is responsible for the provision of potable water and safe sanitation in Malawi. The Ministry serves the urban and town centers in Central Region through the Central Region Water Board (CRWB).

The CRWB has been connecting customers upon receiving connection fees or once the customer has bought connection materials.

This has seen low-income households unable to equally access the service. Consequently, low-income households

have had to resort to unsafe water sources leading to many cases of water borne diseases, poor school performance among girls from low income households and also high cases of gender-based violence, among other negative outcomes.

To reverse this unfortunate situation and accelerate the attainment of the 6th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: “Clean Water and Safe Sanitation for All” and to realize the Malawi 2063 aspirations, the Government, from 1st April, 2022 commenced free water connections. The implementation of the free water connection policy will be governed by the guidelines provided below