Sustainability of rural water services in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus: a case study from Diffa, Niger

Abstract

Violence committed by non-State armed groups has displaced over 250,000 people in the Diffa region of Niger and crippled the regional economy. The humanitarian response included substantial investment in water infrastructure which has largely alleviated the immediate needs of displacement-affected populations. However, ongoing insecurity threatens the sustainability of these rural water services. A systems-thinking approach to explain the interaction between different sustainability factors for rural water services is advocated by a growing body of literature, but is almost exclusively focused on stable contexts. The applied research reported here adopted a qualitative assessment methodology to determine the impact of the insecurity in Diffa on these sustainability factors. Twenty-five respondents from government, water management structures, donors, and non-governmental organisations were interviewed between March and June 2021. The research demonstrated that insecurity in Diffa impacts negatively on all sustainability factors for rural water services and impedes access, coordination, and communication by and between relevant actors. The overlapping humanitarian and development contexts and the push to implement a triple nexus approach – which includes peace as its third element – raise dilemmas concerning the application of water tariffs, the durability of water infrastructure, and the suitability of a community-based approach to water management.