Water supply and sanitation in Zimbabwe is defined by many small scale successful programs but also by a general lack of improved water and sanitation systems for the majority of Zimbabwe. According to the World Health Organization in 2012, 80% of Zimbabweans had access to improved, i.e. clean, drinking-water sources, and only 40% of Zimbabweans had access to improved sanitation facilities. Access to improved water supply and sanitation is distinctly less in rural areas.
There are many factors which continue to determine the nature, for the foreseeable future, of water supply and sanitation in Zimbabwe.
Three major factors are the severely depressed state of the Zimbabwean economy, the reluctance of foreign aid organizations to build and finance infrastructure projects, and the political instability of the Zimbabwean state.
