Behind headline successes in providing first-time access to water lie a number of pressing challenges to the dominant approach to rural water supply in developing countries, namely community management following a demand-responsive approach. These challenges manifest themselves in poor performance of service providers, high rates of hardware failure, and very low levels of service. This paper argues that tackling these challenges requires a shift in emphasis in rural water supply in developing countries: away from a de-facto focus on the provision of hardware for first-time access towards the proper use of installed hardware as the basis for universal access to rural water services.
MORIARTY, P. ; SMITS, S. ; BUTTERWORTH, J. ; FRANCEYS, R. (2013): Trends in Rural Water Supply. Towards a Service Delivery Approach. In: Water Alternatives: Volume 6 , 329-349. URL [Accessed: 13.05.2019]