100% access by design: a financial tool for urban sanitation

Reliably assessing the cost of different sanitation solutions is a key urban planning challenge. This Practice Note from WSUP describes an Excel-based financial analysis tool which generates reliable costings of different options for achieving 100% sanitation access across low-income and non-low-income areas.

For a more in-depth look at the development of the prototype tool, how it works, its practical application in two wards of Dhaka and the results it produced, see our accompanying Topic Brief ‘Financial analysis for sanitation planning’. The Brief also addresses ways in which the tool could be improved and a discussion of the tool’s potential wider applications.

Request for Proposals: “GSF Mid-Term Evaluation Consulting Services”

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) has specified in its Medium Term Strategic Plan 2012-2016 that all programmes funded by WSSCC’s Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) are subject to independent mid-term and five-year evaluations. These evaluations are aligned with the overall GSF financing mechanism, which is based on a five-year programme cycle.

Therefore, WSSCC is now calling for proposals by 7 June 2013 for “GSF Mid-Term Evaluation Consulting Services”. For more information about the consultancy, please click on this link:

http://www.wsscc.org/about-us/jobs

The mid-term evaluations of GSF programmes in ten countries will be clustered in two batches of five countries in 2013 and 2014/2015 respectively. The assignment covers design and implementation of the mid-term evaluations as well as analysis, consolidation and dissemination of findings as per the Terms of Reference.

As of 31 March 2013, the GSF programmes are implemented in ten countries: Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. In addition, programme preparation is on-going in another six countries; Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Pakistan and Togo. Sanitation and hygiene awareness-raising and promotion activities in the first ten countries with GSF programmes has resulted in 1.4 million people having improved toilets, and more than 1 million people in nearly 4,000 communities who are now living in open defecation free environments.

Hybrid management models: blending community and private management

A clear distinction is generally made between community and private management of water and sanitation services. This distinction reflects the different motivations, values, attitudes and approaches generally associated with each type of provider.

In WSUP programmes, the local context is often suited to community or to private management models. But in practice, WSUP often seeks to go beyond this “community” versus “private” dichotomy, to try to get “the best of both worlds”. For instance, CBO operators are often encouraged to adopt commercial practices and achieve business efficiency. Similarly, entrepreneurs are encouraged to be more supportive of the needs of the community, and more responsive to poverty and gender issues.

In this Topic Brief, the approaches used by WSUP in Nairobi, Kumasi and Antananarivo under the African Cities for the Future (ACF) programme are examined from this perspective of blending community and private management models. The Topic Brief concludes with practical guidance on this issue for programme managers. Click on the image below to download the Topic Brief.

WEDC & WSP online learning course – Rural Sanitation at Scale

The Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) of Loughborough University, UK, in partnership with the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) of the World Bank, recently developed a self-paced online course that addresses the important global challenges facing the water and sanitation sector.

The course, titled Rural Sanitation at Scale, which is featured as a unit in WEDC’s master’s (MSc) program, is also offered free-of-charge as a non-accredited professional development unit for sector professionals interested in learning more about the issues of scaling-up sanitation in rural areas.
The course is divided into three parts: 

Part 1 – Lays out the challenge of scaling up rural sanitation in context, examining fundamental aspects of sanitation provision and the reasons why, up to now, the goal of sanitation at scale has proved elusive. 

Part 2 – Examines the core theory of change for sustainable programs. In particular it looks at the first two, of three, key components or pillars required for change: the creation of demand and the supply chain.

Part 3 – Continues to explore the core theory of change, focusing on the enabling environment. The unit concludes with a discussion of how the three pillars fit together and what steps are necessary to take an at-scale program forward.

Each section takes approximately 1 hour of study time, excluding associated reading, and is delivered using a variety of media including slide presentations, film clips, animations, photography and graphics supported by selected online publications.

• Access the WEDC/WSP course directly or on the
• World Bank Water website and the 
• WSP website.

Note: You will need to allow pop-ups for the course to run.

• For more information, please contact R.J. Shaw (WEDC) or Eddy Perez (WSP)
• Read WSP’s publication What Does it Take to Scale Up Rural Sanitation? (PDF)

Global Sanitation Fund helps 1.4 million people gain improved sanitation

Children in Senegal carry signs to show support for good hygiene practices including handwashing in a celebration confirming this village in Senegal has improved sanitation. The ceremony is in Agnam Civol, a village which was declared open defecation free thanks to efforts through GSF financed programmes in 2012.

The Global Sanitation Fund Progress Report 2012, a new report from the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), details programmatic results, reporting methodology and financial data from Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programmes in Africa and Asia.

In 10 countries – Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal Tanzania and Uganda – Global Sanitation Fund Sub-grantees have implemented sanitation and hygiene awareness-raising and promotion activities resulting in:

• 1.4 million people with improved toilets.
• More than 1 million people in nearly 4,000 communities now live in open defecation free environments.
• Almost 10,000 communities have participated in demand-creation activities.
• 3.8 million people have heard about the importance of good hygiene through community activities and communications campaigns.

Request for Proposals: The effects of poor sanitation on women and girls in India

The SHARE Research Consortium and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) have joined together to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) with a total value of £400,000 for research on sanitation and women in India. Four priority research questions have been identified, further details are available in the revised RFP documents:

1. The conditions and effects of WASH in health facilities, particularly around childbirth

2. Operational research into menstrual hygiene management

• Psycho-social stress linked to ignorance, taboos, shame and silence around menstruation
• The link between menstrual hygiene and infections and/or other health related impacts
• Operational research on the design and unit costs for safe reuse and disposal options

3. Psycho-social stress resulting from violence experienced by women in the course of using sanitation facilities or practicing open defecation.

4. The practice of limiting, postponing or reducing food and liquid intake to control the urge to urinate or defecate: the prevalence of this behaviour and related health risks.

Proposals must be led or co-led by an Indian research institution. SHARE and WSSCC envisage making three or four grants of which at least £200,000 is earmarked for questions 1 and 2 above. However, depending on the quality and size of the proposals received, SHARE and WSSCC may make a single grant only or, alternatively, more grants of lesser value.

The deadline for submission of proposal is 17:00 GMT on 29th March 2013. For full details please refer to the RFP document. Results will be announced by the end of April.

SHARE – Request for proposals: The effects of poor sanitation on girls and women in India

Feb 21, 2013 – The SHARE Research Consortium is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for research into the effects of poor sanitation on girls and women in India. Proposals must be led or co-led by an Indian research institution and must address at least one of the following questions:

• Psycho-social stress resulting from violence experienced by women in the course of using sanitation facilities or practicing open defecation.
• Operational research into menstrual hygiene management or determining the link between menstrual hygiene and infections.
• The practice of limiting, postponing or reducing food and liquid intake to control the urge to urinate or defecate: the prevalence of this behaviour and related health risks.

The deadline for submission of proposal is 17:00 GMT on 15 March 2013.

• For full details please refer to the RFP document

Email: aurelie.jeandron@lshtm.ac.uk

SHARE – Sanitation Markets: Using economics to improve the delivery of services

Sanitation Markets: Using economics to improve the delivery of services along the sanitation value chain, 2012.

• Full text, pdf

Sophie Trémolet. SHARE.

Conclusions
In summary, a number of actions could be undertaken based on these findings:

• Make the case for investment in sanitation;
• Channel financing more effectively and increase the effectiveness of public funding;
• Foster demand for sanitation at all levels of the value chain;
• Influence the restructuring of the provision of transport services for on-site sanitation, particularly by formalising small-scale private providers,
• Estimate the value of the various sanitation by-products and identify ways of monetizing such value in a sustainable manner through reuse.

In order to support future actions, key areas of research should be explored, including:

• Improve the estimates of the benefits of investing in sanitation and compare the benefits with the costs of sanitation in a broader range of countries and local contexts, as well as evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative investments;
• Identify the most effective financing mechanisms, including ways of attracting new resources into the sector (e.g. from beneficiaries) and via re-use and overcoming the affordability constraint;
• Identify ways of stimulating demand and overcome information asymmetry for households, entrepreneurs or even the government;
• Identify ways of organising service provision and scaling-up of small-scale entrepreneurs.

Sanitation economics research has a critical role to play and should be fostered. On this basis, budding and ineffective sanitation markets can be transformed into thriving markets where the full value of sanitation by-products is fully realised and reinvested into the system so as to foster increased investments and generate efficiency gains.

Global Review of Sanitation System Trends and Interactions with Menstrual Management Practices

Global Review of Sanitation System Trends and Interactions with Menstrual Management Practices, 2012.

• Full text, pdf (5.4MB)

Kjellén, M., C. Pensulo, P. Nordqvist and M. Fogde. Stockholm Environment Institute.

This review of sanitation system trends and interactions with menstrual management practices has been conducted as part of the broader project on Menstrual Management and Sanitation Systems. 

It starts with a review of trends in the development of urban sanitation systems and then explores the interaction between menstrual management and sanitation systems, mainly relating to the issue of disposal of used menstrual blood absorption materials. Finally, it proposes a framework of interactions by positioning a range of issues of particular relevance for menstrual management into the different parts of the sanitation system.

New job at WSSCC: Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer P4

WSSCC has an exciting senior-level (P4) monitoring and evaluation (M&E) position based in Geneva, Switzerland. The application deadline is 30 December 2012. The purpose of the post is to coordinate the effective monitoring and evaluation of WSSCC’s work in line with its Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP)for the period 2012-2016. The incumbent is expected to establish a conceptual framework for the monitoring & evaluation practice, provide leadership to strengthen WSSCC’s capacity, and to develop systems and engagement strategies to enable WSSCC to:

• Effectively monitor and evaluate progress against its MTSP for the period 2012-2016, and regularly derive evidence-based data and information feeding into organizational and wider sector knowledge and learning.  
• Identify and collaborate on evaluation research initiatives of relevance to the sector as a whole.    
• Represent WSSCC in inter-agency meetings and high-level forums on monitoring and evaluation.
• Develop partnerships and facilitate inter-institutional relations with key research institutions specializing in water, sanitation and hygiene.

WSSCC’s mission is to ensure sustainable sanitation, better hygiene and safe drinking water for all people.  Good sanitation and hygiene lead to economic and social development, yielding health, productivity, educational and environmental benefits. WSSCC manages the Global Sanitation Fund, facilitates coordination at national, regional and global levels, supports professional development, and advocates on behalf of the 2.5 billion people without a clean, safe toilet to use.  WSSCC is hosted by UNOPS, supports coalitions in more than 30 countries and has members around the world.

For information on the United Nations salary scale and post adjustment formula, visit here: 
http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm
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