Pre intervention analysis about the water and sanitation infrastructure situation in Chamanculo, in the city of Maputo

In Mozambique the incidence of poverty on the national level reduced to 22 percent between 1997 to 2003, decreasing from 69.4% to 54.1%, which means it exceeded the goal foreseen in PARPA I of reducing the poverty incidence to 60% until 2005. However, although the poverty incidence increased in the rural areas (55.2 percent) and there poverty is still higher comparing to the poverty in the urban level (51.6 percent), it was indeed in the rural area where the poverty decreased the most, with the improvement of access to basic services (water, sanitation, food, education, health and shelter). In the urban level poverty has been increasing due to the increase of the inequality in the distribution of the incomes and opportunities, this had a higher expression on the 5th February 2008 with the violent manifestations in the city of Maputo and Matola, due to the increase of transport costs. [authors abstract]