In 2008 and 2009, Zimbabwe’s poor sanitation and water treatment facilities became a public health catastrophe that claimed the lives of 4 300 people and infected more than 100 000 people nation wide. The Government of Zimbabwe and the World Bank, through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, created the Beitbridge Emergency Water Supply and Sanitation Project in response to the epidemic, with the intention to address the serious water and sanitation issues in the border town. This project’s first order of business was to make physical investments in the water supply system, waste water treatment, and solid waste management, while also strengthening the capacity of the Beitbridge Town Council.