Mpolonjeni Area Programme (AP) is situated in the Lubombo Region of Eswatini. It is in a rural area covering 10 communities, with an estimated total population of 18,089. The Area Programme was supported by World Vision United States from 2001 to 2023, a transformational presence of 22 years.
At the time of transitioning, the programme was supporting 1,652 Registered Children, who were all sponsored.
Areas of transformational development in the AP included Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); Livelihoods and Economic Development; Education; Child Protection and Spiritual Nurturing. In this profile; however, focus is on the WASH Technical Programme.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Interventions
Our flagship interventions in Mpolonjeni Area Programme are, by far, evident in our WASH Technical Programme.
Access to safe water
Our Technical EndofProgramme Evaluation showed remarkable progress in access to potable water, which had improved from 3.9% when World Vision first arrived, to 100% in 2023. This was achieved through the Mpolonjeni Water Project, which provides safe water to 10 communities with 3,320 households, totaling 18,089 people, being the whole population of the Mpolonjeni Area Programme.
The project was achieved through collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy and its parastatal, the Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC), with which World Vision has a standing Memorandum of Understanding. EWSC provides afterservice support to ensure sustainability through tariff billing.
A total of 17 primary and high schools also have access to water supply, benefiting about 10,000 learners.
Sanitation and Hygiene
World Vision’s WASH interventions also ensured access to improved household sanitation for Mpolonjeni AP communities, with a vast improvement from 22% to 97% households having access to a VIP latrine. A total of 535 households were supported with toilet construction material, benefitting 3,210 people. This was achieved through partnership and collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other organisations that provided support through building material.
In addition, 10 WASH Clubs and handwashing facilities were established in five (5) schools, while 235 households were supported with handwashing facilities to help improve hygiene.
Civic education on sanitation was also one of the interventions provided by World Vision, resulting in reduced incidence of waterborne diseases in the area. This is evidenced by reports from the local clinic (Mpolonjeni Clinic), which indicated a decline in the rate of diarrhea from 30.2% in 2005 to 0% in 2022/2023.