Urban‐rural inequalities in water access constitute one of the major obstacles to achieving universal water coverage. In Sub‐Saharan Africa, these inequalities have persisted for decades. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to achieve universal access to safely managed water, which requires that an improved source be located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. This paper draws on empirical evidence from household surveys in peri‐urban and rural Malawi to examine urban‐rural differences in access to safely managed water. The paper highlights issues with the SDGs’ definition and monitoring indicators and outlines lessons for improving water access given existing inequalities between urban and rural areas. It concludes by arguing that a one‐size‐fits‐all approach to governance, monitoring, and planning cannot eliminate inequalities in water access, especially between urban and rural areas.

中文翻译：

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马拉维的城乡用水不平等：对监测可持续发展目标的影响

城乡用水不平等是实现普遍水覆盖的主要障碍之一。在撒哈拉以南非洲，这些不平等现象持续了数十年。可持续发展目标（SDG）力求实现对安全管理的水的普遍获取，这要求在场所内放置改进的水源，在需要时可用，并且无污染。本文借鉴了马拉维郊区和农村地区家庭调查的经验证据，以检验获得安全管理的水的城乡差异。本文重点介绍了可持续发展目标的定义和监测指标，并概述了在城乡地区之间存在不平等状况的情况下改善用水的经验教训。最后，我们提出了一种适用于所有人的统一方法来进行治理，监控，