Factors Influencing Water Point Functionality in Liberia: A Regression and Bayesian Network Analysis

Henry Li, Catherine McManus and Ryan Cronk ()
Additional contact information
Henry Li: Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Catherine McManus: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, The Water Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Ryan Cronk: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, The Water Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: Maintaining functional rural community water supply is a persistent challenge across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Liberia. This study examined the determinants of hand pump functionality in Liberia using a comprehensive dataset from the Liberian Government. We analyzed 11,065 Afridev hand pumps using regression and Bayesian network models. Water points managed by local and institutional entities had substantially higher odds of being functional than those with no management (adjusted OR 3.73 and 2.89), while WASH committees showed a smaller increase (OR 2.43). Pump part damage significantly reduced functionality (undamaged vs. damaged, OR: 10.46. Faster repair was an important determinant, with odds of functionality up to 6.37 times higher. The availability of a trained mechanic with a modest toolkit modestly improved odds (OR 1.25), and proximity to spare parts suppliers played a role (second quartile vs. farthest quartile, OR 1.57). We quantified the impact of service delivery: posterior odds that a water point is functional under the most ideal conditions were four times those under the least ideal conditions. These findings underscore the importance of effective management and prompt repairs to maintain the functionality of water infrastructure. These insights can guide improvements in Liberia and other regions facing similar challenges.

Keywords: Bayesian network model; rural water supply; sustainable development goal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8928/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8928/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:19:p:8928-:d:1766827

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().