A Water and Sanitation for Health (WASH) team visited Zaire in January 1986 to help the National Action Committee for Water and Sanitation (CNAEA) develop the first draft of a national rural water supply/sanitation (WS/S) plan. The team recommended that CNAEA: (1) encourage full participation by all relevant organizations, especially the National Rural Water Service, the Department of Health, REGIDESO (the entity in charge of urban water supply), the National Sanitation Program, and the Department of Plan, in preparing the Rural Plan; and (2) convene a quarterly meeting of all WS/S organizations, including governmental, non-governmental, and bilateral entities. For its part, A.I.D. should: (1) encourage CNAEA and the UN Development Program to exercise stronger leadership in the WS/S sector; (2) ask CNAEA to prepare a work plan and expenditure reports on the $39,000 grant provided for preparing the Rural Plan; (3) have a WASH team return to Zaire to review and help revise the Plan; and (4) upon completion of the Plan, consider supporting the preparation of project proposals, and a donor's conference.