Sanitation Updates

Plan UK recently launched a handbook on Community Led Total Sanitation to enable communities analyse their sanitation conditions and collectively understand the impact of open defecation on public health and their environment.

About Community Led Total Sanitation Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is an approach that focuses on igniting a change in sanitation behaviour through community participation rather than constructing toilets. It does this through a process of social participation. It concentrates on the whole community rather than on individual behaviours and the collective benefit from stopping open defecation can encourage a more cooperative approach. People decide together how they will create a clean and hygienic environment that benefits everyone.

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The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) has invited public comment on the Strategic Framework on Water for Sustainable Development: Discussion document. The deadline for written comments is 30 May 2008.

Source: Participation Junction

The discussion document is quite frank about current failures/shortcomings in water and sanitation service delivery. Some quotes:

“When 77 WSA managers surveyed for the 2007 Masibambane II evaluation were asked whether those who were served would in future be rejoining the backlog queue as a result of defective infrastructure in recently completed projects, 51% said this was happening already. 16% of beneficiaries in settlements with recent water projects said they now had to walk more than 200 meters to fetch water”. [chap. 3.2.2, p. 17]

“A growing number of new flush toilets malfunction, particularly those built swiftly to meet bucket eradication targets. The number of sewage spills from overloaded systems is rising steadily. Some houses have two new VIP toilets, built by parallel programmes. Many VIPs are built badly, some are not being used at all, and unusable full pits means people are reverting to unimproved toilets or open defecation, with little net gain in health or hygiene behaviour”. [chap. 6.3.5, p. 41].

Below are links to interesting WSP reports from the WSP May 2008 Newsletter:

1 - Title: Lessons from a Low-Cost Ecological Approach to Sanitation in Malawi (pdf, full-text)

Low cost Ecological Sanitation programs in Malawi have led to the building of over 11,000 compostproducing toilets since 2003. While the toilets are affordable and simple to construct, the fact that they convert human waste into valuable odor-free compost, enables cost recovery for households and is a prime driver in popularizing EcoSan designs.

2 - Title: Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Southeast Asia-Summary (pdf, full-text)

This document is published in light of the International Year of Sanitation 2008. It is a summary of a four-country study in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam under WSP’s Economics of Sanitation Initiative (ESI). This study examines the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. By examining the economic impacts of poor sanitation, and the potential gains from improved sanitation, this study provides important evidence to support the need for investment in sanitation.

3 - Economic Impacts of Sanitation in the Philippines-Summary (pdf, full-text)

This is a detailed individual country report that delves into the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in the Philippines. The report shows decision makers at the country how the negative impacts of poor sanitation can be mitigated by investing in improved sanitation.

4 - Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Vietnam-Summary (pdf, full-text)

This document looks into the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in Vietnam. The report shows decision makers in Vietnam how the negative impacts of poor sanitation can be mitigated by investing in improved sanitation.

Leptospirosis, a life-threatening zoonotic disease, has become an important urban slum health problem. Epidemics of leptospirosis now occur in cities throughout the developing world, as the growth of slum settlements has produced conditions for rat-borne transmission of this disease. In this prevalence survey of more than 3,000 residents from a favela slum community in Brazil, Geographical Information System (GIS) and modeling approaches identified specific deficiencies in the sanitation infrastructure of slum environments-open sewers, refuse, and inadequate floodwater drainage-that serve as sources for Leptospira transmission. In addition to the environmental attributes of the slum environment, low socioeconomic status was found to independently contribute to the risk of infection. These findings indicate that effective prevention of leptospirosis will need to address the social factors that produce unequal health outcomes among slum residents, in addition to improving sanitation.

Citation: Reis RB, Ribeiro GS, Felzemburgh RDM, Santana FS, Mohr S, et al. (200 Impact of Environment and Social Gradient on Leptospira Infection in Urban Slums. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2(4): e228. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000228

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Andrew Deak - 2008
ISBN 1 85864 677 4
48 pages
Price £12.95
IDS Working Papers - 298

When a practice becomes widespread enough, then it has ‘gone to scale’. But increasing the intensity and spread of a particular practice is not a linear or obvious endeavour. The paper proposes that going to scale is multi-dimensional and complex. It focuses on Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS): an innovation in participatory methodology, as well as a unique approach to sanitation. While CLTS has followed both vertical and horizontal trajectories, with quantitative, political, functional and organisational scaling-up, its general movements are best described as ‘spread and adaptation’. The paper describes how CLTS offers important lessons to understand spread which is critical for scaling up in an effective way. CLTS shows how increased scale entails both wide-scale coverage, with pertinent adaptations to local contexts. The main argument is that spread and adaptation are important aspects of scaling up, which is often neglected in the literature. After a brief overview of CLTS, the paper reviews the literature on scaling-up and extracts the useful points relevant to CLTS, and highlights the gaps in the literature around self-spreading movements. A number of case studies of innovative methods or approaches that have been successfully scaled-up are then considered: PRA, Reflect, Community Integrated Pest Management and System of Rice Intensification. The author then maps out CLTS experience, outlining the various ways in which CLTS has spread. After considering the various forms of spread, the ‘spatial strategy’ employed by CARE Bangladesh is given specific attention. The paper then discusses how CLTS and other participatory approaches challenge dominant thinking around community developing by critically examining the World Bank’s discourse around Community-based/driven development. The final section offers concluding remarks regarding how to better understand scaling-up and spread.
To download this document free of charge, click here

Coinciding with World Health Day on April 7, Australian Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance Bob McMullan, MP launched Sharing Experiences: Sustainable Sanitation in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, a joint publication of WaterAid Australia and the International WaterCentre.

The publication presents nine case studies from: Indonesia, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Fiji, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati.

Key improvements related to the case studies:

• The WSLIC 2 project in Indonesia used a Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach which has empowered communities to take collective action to ensure 156,995 people live in villages that are 100% free of open defecation.
• Plan in Vietnam introduced locally produced latrines which reduced household toilet cost by almost 55% and enabled poor farmers to safely reuse human fertilizer for their farms.
• The World Vision project in Vanuatu increased access to sanitation by 25% and made safe water accessible in seven villages. Access to potable water resulted in better diets in households and increased hygiene practices.
• The 3 Delta Towns project in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam used a revolving loan scheme to improve access to household septic tank toilets for 22,500 people.
• The SOPAC Sanitation Park in Fiji showcases a range of sanitation technologies. It has become a training site for local villagers, health workers and students.
• In a record 42 days from the commencement of WaterAID Australia’s pilot CLTS sanitation program in Timor Leste, total sanitation coverage in five target villages was achieved. The success of the program has resulted in an inter-agency workshop and training programs to promote the CLTS approach.
• The ATproject in PNG promoted hygiene among school children and designed and constructed the locally ‘ATloo’ toilets in schools. The positive results of the project sparked a growing interest in the program in other schools and a demand for sanitation in households.
• The World Toilet Organization project in Aceh, Indonesia has used a community toilet and biogas technology to help introduce the concept ecological sanitation whilst restoring normalcy to communities affected by the 2004 Asian Tsunami.
• Ecological sanitation training workshops for communities in the Pacific Islands provided theoretical knowledge and practical skills for the participants, which they passed on to their home island communities in Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Tonga.

Pedi, D. (ed.) (2008). Sharing experiences : sustainable sanitation in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Mitcham, VIC, Australia, WaterAid Australia and Brisbane, QLD, Australia, International WaterCentre. 64 p. Download here.

In a commentary published in Nature on 20 March 2008, Jamie Bartram (WHO) calls for a smarter system of indicators to monitor progress in achieving the MDG goals for safe water and sanitation. The current way of measuring progress shares “a basic weakness in regarding every human as either ‘having’ or ‘not having’ these key amenities [safe water and basic sanitation] ; a formula well past its sell-by date”, Bartram argues.

“Counting haves and have-nots has the advantages of simplicity and equity” [...] but it does not encourage “progressive improvements”.

“The benchmark for sanitation is use at home, whereas for water it is an improved communal source - a protected well or spring, for example. Applying benchmarks that require both drinking-water and sanitation at home would better represent what is needed to protect health and secure social benefits. Sadly, raising the water benchmark to a household level alongside the sanitation benchmark would mean missing both targets”.

For Bartram elements of a smarter system include:

• recognising not only household latrines but also successful shared or public toilets
• including health, well-being and livelihoods in indicators
• using “overlays” incorporating greater detail in indicators, e.g. ‘marking down’ flush toilets “if they discharge untreated wastewater into a nearby river rather than to a treatment facility”.
• recognising “that safe water and sanitation in schools, workplaces, hospitals, markets and other public places are also important”
• recognising “that sanitation protects health best when practised by all”.

Chapter: Water and Sanitation

While wide agreement exists on the need for adequate water and sanitation, progress has been slow, particularly compared with progress on other MDGs.  (…)   The most recent assessment suggests that the world is roughly on target for reaching the MDG goal of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water, but it is expected to miss the goal for access to basic sanitation by half a billion people.   (…)  In addition, the summary global statistics are averages and conceal major disparities by income group.  (…)  , over half of the bottom quintile has no access to sanitation of any kind, while only 6 percent of the top quintile has no access to sanitation. (pp.82-84)

Read Global Monitoring Report Chapter 2 Achieving Better Results in Human Development

Go to main web page of the Global Monitoring Report 2008

This issue of Notes & News focuses on some of the activities and initiatives undertaken in the framework of the International Year of Sanitation related to WASH in Schools. Two non-traditional approaches are highlighted. The School Sanitation Fund by the Dutch NGO Simavi and the Global Awareness Raising campaign by the German Toilet Organization. Marni Summer and Jackie Kirk contributed an article on girl-centred, holistic thinking for school sanitation, one of the vital components for successful WASH in schools activities.

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In October 2007, a team of consultants from the Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP) visited Uganda to determine if sanitation marketing would be a viable approach in Uganda, and to make specific recommendations to HIP and the donor community that would move the sanitation marketing agenda forward. This report presents the key findings and recommendations stemming from the trip.

The overarching conclusion is that sanitation marketing is both a viable and needed approach to increase sanitation uptake among rural households in Uganda. The team based its assessment on an analysis of the policy environment, formative research, and local-level conditions concerning Uganda’s rural household sanitation sector.

Download the publication here