Organization works closely with district authorities and the Ministry of Water Development to bring vfilagers, especially women, into the decision-making process. The experience vith the Kwale district handpump project shows that most installed pumps are still functioning and that many cu.mmittees have raised additional funds which are being used to initiate other activities. In the Philippines, a prerequisite for initiation of rural water supply schemes is the establishment of adequate community-based institutional arrangements and an expressed need by the recipients to have the service and a clear commitment from them to maintain and amortize the costs. 26. In Lesotho, where over a third of all households are headed 1y women, village water committees have been encouraged to select women far training as “water minders", whose responsibilities include collecting monthly fess. A similar programme to promote women as "pump minders" has also been implemented inA/45/327 English Page 8 Zimbabwe. In Sri Lankan villages, women have also been active in the business of manufacturing water pumps and have proved tr5e adept in learning the necessary new skill of metal working, while in Indonesia women's involvement in project development has resulted in increased use of water supply for commercial purposes including vegetable growing, thus benefiting family health while rendering the systems more self-sufficient. 27.Rural sanitation programmes with a strong health education component incorporating specific roles for women have resulted in a significant drop in the incidence of diarrhoea in children under five, a major contributing factor to infant mortality in developing countries. The effectiveness of the combination of information, technical and financial assistance to reduce morbidity in developing countries, and the need to support community participation with technical and logistic back-up is well demonstrated by a community sanitation project in Ecuador, where a national institute supported development through the provision of
**Analysis**
The text discusses the involvement of women in decision-making processes related to water supply and sanitation projects in developing countries. It highlights the effectiveness of community-based institutional arrangements and the importance of women's participation in project development. The text also mentions the provision of technical and financial assistance to reduce morbidity in developing countries.

**Category**
Health, Humanitarian aid and relief