Farewell from Sanitation Updates

Sanitation Updates will no longer be updated after March 16, 2021. We want to thank the many viewers, visitors and contributors that have been part of the Sanitation Updates community. Sanitation Updates began in 2008 as a collaborative effort between USAID and IRC to contribute to the International Year of Sanitation and there were more than 1,937,000 visits to the site. Please visit the USAID Globalwaters.org and IRC websites to continue to learn about sanitation issues

Biweekly WASH Research Update – March 4, 2021

This is the final WASH research update from the WCKM project, which was supported by the USAID’s RFS Center for Water Security, Sanitation and Hygiene. This update features new additions to the Globalwaters.org website, 18 recent studies, reports and webinars and we hope these updates have been useful to you.

Updates to Globalwaters.org

• Upcoming Events – Upcoming Webinar – COVID-19 and WASH: What We Know and What’s Next (Related findings available here).
• Upcoming Events – Water Trust/WASHPaLS webinar: Poultry management and WASH
• Upcoming Events – International Women’s Day 2021: #ChooseToChallenge
• Blog – Going Beyond Taps and Toilets in the Sahel
• Report – SWA: Water and Sanitation: How to Make Public Investment Work
• News – USAID Will Help Pakistan to Enhance Water Governance

WASH Studies and Resources

COVID-19

• WASH in schools for student return during the COVID-19 pandemic. IDS, February 2021.
• COVID-19 resilience – Adapting In a Time Of Crisis. WSUP Webinar, February 2021.
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Swabbed Samples from Latrines and Flushing Toilets: A Case–Control Study in a Rural Latin American Setting. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, March 2021.
• Household Water Insecurity Will Complicate the Ongoing COVID-19 Response: Evidence from 29 Sites in 23 Low- and Middle-Income Countries. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, February 2021.
• SARS-CoV-2 sewage surveillance in low-income countries: potential and challenges. Journal of Water & Health, February 2021.

Handwashing/Hygiene

• What is hygiene? WASHeconomics, March 2021.
• Regional state of hygiene – West Africa. WaterAid, March 2021.
• Could Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Be an Option for Hand Hygiene for Households in Rural Bangladesh? American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, March 2021.
• Unravelling context: a formative photovoice study of Indian youth perspectives of sanitation and hygiene practices. Waterlines, January 2021.

Menstrual Hygiene and Health

• ‘Menstruation means impurity’: multilevel interventions are needed to break the menstrual taboo in Nepal. BMC Women’s Health, February 2021.

Sanitation Issues

• Effectiveness of community and school-based sanitation interventions in improving latrine coverage: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled interventions. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, February 2021.
• Child defecation, feces disposal practices and associated factors in community-led total sanitation adopted districts in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Environmental Challenges, April 2021.
• Where Does CLTS Work Best? Quantifying Predictors of CLTS Performance in Four Countries. Environ. Sci. Technol. February 2021.
• Impact of sampling depth on pathogen detection in pit latrines. PLoS NTDs, March 2021.

Water/WASH Issues

• Operation and Maintenance of WASH Infrastructure Webinar Series: Webinar #1. PRO-WASH, March 2021.
• Monitoring socio-climatic interactions to prioritise drinking water interventions in rural Africa. NPJ Clean Water, February 2021.
• Co-producing drinking water in rural Ethiopia: Governmentality in the name of community management. Water Alternatives, February 2021.
• A review of 80 assessment tools measuring water security. WIREs Water, February 2021. 

New Guides from the Sanitation Learning Hub

New Guides from the Sanitation Learning Hub
We are very pleased to announce three new Sanitation Learning Hub guides and the third edition of our handwashing compendium.

• ‘Incontinence: We Need to Talk About Leaks’, Frontiers of Sanitation: Innovations and Insights 16
• How to Talk About Incontinence: A Checklist
• ‘Rapid Action Learning for Sanitation and Hygiene Programming’, Frontiers of Sanitation: Innovations and Insights 15
• ‘Learning in the Sanitation and Hygiene Sector’, SLH Learning Brief 7
• Handwashing Compendium for Low Resource Settings: A Living Document, Edition 3,

We hope that these resources are useful to you and your work. Please send any feedback to us at SLH@ids.ac.uk
 
Many good wishes,
Elaine Mercer, Sanitation Learning Hub

Nouveaux guides publiés par la Sanitation Learning Hub

Chères/Chers ami·e·s et collègues,

Nous sommes ravis de vous annoncer trois nouveaux guides publiés par la Sanitation Learning Hub et la troisième édition de notre Compendium sur le lavage des mains :

• « Incontinence : Il faut que nous parlions de fuites », Aux Frontières de l’assainissement : Innovations et Impressions 16
•  Comment parler de l’incontinence : Aide-mémoire
• « L’apprentissage rapide par l’action pour la programmation de l’assainissement et l’hygiène », Aux Frontières de l’assainissement : Innovations et Impressions 15
• Compendium sur le lavage des mains dans les contextes pauvres en ressources : Document évolutif, 3^e édition,

Nous espérons que ces ressources vous seront utiles et vous aideront dans vos travaux. Veuillez nous faire part de vos commentaires et suggestions : SLH@ids.ac.uk

Novos guias do Sanitation Learning Hub

Caros amigos e colegas,

Temos o prazer de anunciar quatro novos guias do Sanitation Learning Hub e a terceira edição do nosso compêndio de lavagem das mãos:

• “Incontinência: Precisamos de falar sobre fugas de informação”, Fronteiras do Saneamento: Inovações e Ideias Nº 16
• Como Falar  sobre Incontinência: Uma Lista de Controlo
• “Aprendizagem Rápida para a Acção para Programas de Saneamento e Higiene”, Fronteiras do Saneamento: Inovações e Ideias Nº 15
• “A Aprendizagem no Sector do Saneamento e Higiene”, Nota de Reflexão do SLH Nº 7
• Compêndio de Lavagem das Mãos para Meio de Poucos Recursos: um Documento Vivo, 3ª Edição

Esperamos que estes recursos sejam úteis, para si e para o seu trabalho. Envie-nos os comentários que possa ter SLH@ids.ac.uk

USAID Grant Opportunity – Rural Water Research & Learning

USAID Grant Opportunity – Rural Water Research & Learning

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (RFS) Center for Water Security, Sanitation and Hygiene is issuing this Draft Program Description for the purpose of providing stakeholders and potential partners an opportunity to review, comment, suggest, and enhance areas of a new global water research activity: the Rural Water Research & Learning Activity.

The purpose of this activity is to expand the evidence base for rural water supply and use of findings to inform rural water policy and programming in collaboration with partners, to increase the availability and sustainable management of safe water for the underserved and most vulnerable.

Link to grant documentation. 

Menstrual hygiene management in schools: midway progress update on the “MHM in Ten” 2014–2024 global agenda

Menstrual hygiene management in schools: midway progress update on the “MHM in Ten” 2014–2024 global agenda. Health Research Policy and Systems, January 2021.

Progress has been made in recent years to bring attention to the challenges faced by school-aged girls around managing menstruation in educational settings that lack adequate physical environments and social support in low- and middle-income countries.

To enable more synergistic and sustained progress on addressing menstruation-related needs while in school, an effort was undertaken in 2014 to map out a vision, priorities, and a ten-year agenda for transforming girls’ experiences, referred to as Menstrual Hygiene Management in Ten (MHM in Ten).

The overarching vision is that girls have the information, support, and enabling school environment for managing menstruation with dignity, safety and comfort by 2024. This requires improved research evidence and translation for impactful national level policies.

As 2019 marked the midway point, we assessed progress made on the five key priorities, and remaining work to be done, through global outreach to the growing network of academics, non-governmental organizations, advocates, social entrepreneurs, United Nations agencies, donors, and national governments.

This paper delineates the key insights to inform and support the growing MHM commitment globally to maximize progress to reach our vision by 2024. Corresponding to the five priorities, we found that (priority 1) the evidence base for MHM in schools has strengthened considerably, (priority 2) global guidelines for MHM in schools have yet to be created, and (priority 3) numerous evidence-based advocacy platforms have emerged to support MHM efforts.

We also identified (priority 4) a growing engagement, responsibility, and ownership of MHM in schools among governments globally, and that although MHM is beginning to be integrated into country-level education systems (priority 5), resources are lacking.

Overall, progress is being made against identified priorities. We provide recommendations for advancing the MHM in Ten agenda. This includes continued building of the evidence, and expanding the number of countries with national level policies and the requisite funding and capacity to truly transform schools for all students and teachers who menstruate.

Biweekly WASH research updates – January 4, 2021

This biweekly update contains the latest updates to Globalwaters.org as well as recent studies and reports handwashing, sanitation, WASH in schools, WASH in healthcare facilities, water supply issues and COVID-19 and WASH.

Updates to Globalwaters.org

• WASH for Women and Girls Fact Sheet. USAID, December 2020.
• WASH Governance Technical Brief. USAID, December 2020.
• Kabarole District Pay-As-You-Fetch Research Report. Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership, December 2020.
• Expanding Finance for Water Service Providers in Kenya. WASH-FIN, December 2020.
• Update on Electricity Costs for Service Providers in Kenya. WASH-FIN, December 2020.
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Conditions at Artisanal Seafood Processing Sites in Senegal: Technical Learning Note. Feed the Future, December 2020.
• Shared Water, Shared Future: How the Smart Waters Project Helped to Facilitate Integrated Water Management in Central Asia. Smart Waters, December 2020.
• Webinar – WASH Collaboration: Two Projects, One Result. Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership; Lowland WASH, December 2020.
• Water Currents: Data for Water Sector Decision Making. USAID Water Team, December 2020.

Environmental Health

Using Feedback to Improve Accountability in Global Environmental Health and Engineering. Environ. Sci. Technol., December 2020. 

Handwashing/Hygiene

An assessment of availability of handwashing facilities in households from four East African countries. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. In press, 2020. 

Sanitation

Philippines: Can Subsidized Microloans Increase Toilet Ownership and Use for Poor Households? World Bank, November 2020. 

How Much Will Safe Sanitation for All Cost? Evidence from Five Cities. Environ. Sci. Technol., December 2020. (Abstract only for non-subscribers)

Cost effectiveness of community led total sanitation in Ethiopia and Ghana. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, March 2021. 

Water, Sanitation and the Risk of Chronic Conditions among Older Persons in Ghana: Results from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 2. African Population and Health Research Center, December 2020.

Modification of Major Contributors Responsible for Latrine Malodor on Exposure to Hypochlorous Acid: The Potential for Simultaneously Impacting Odor and Infection Hazards to Encourage Latrine Use. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, December 2020. 

Water Supply/Reuse

Evaluating self-reported measures and alternatives to monitor access to drinking water: A case study in Malawi. Science of The Total Environment, January 2021.

25 Years of Partnership with Karnataka: Evolving Model for Sustainable Urban Water Service Delivery. Asian Development Bank, December 2020. 

Pages: 1 2

WASH for Women and Girls Fact Sheet. USAID, December 2020.

WASH for Women and Girls Fact Sheet. USAID, December 2020.

Through Water for the World, USAID increases access to sustainable water and sanitation services, promotes key hygiene behaviors, and enhances the effective management of water resources in developing countries.

USAID also elevates the status of women and girls to empower them as decision-makers and professionals in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector so they can lead the transformation of water and sanitation services in their own communities and countries.

Flush Away 2020: A 5-Day Game, December 27-31, 2020

From December 27 to 31, 2020, FLUSH, The Loo Tours, and The POOP Project have teamed up with Reel Paper to encourage you to let this year go. Any game participant has a chance to win an awesome raffle prize. See below for more details.

Each day will have a theme with some directions that we’ll share in videos around 6am EST / 11am GMT. You’ll have 24 hours to submit your results on Twitter and/or Instagram. Here are some hints about the 5 days of games:

• Day 1: Toilet Paper Challenge (arts & crafts)
• Day 2: Thank You (Sanitation Workers) Challenge (gratitude)
• Day 3: Toilet/WC Upgrade Challenge (design)
• Day 4: Bristol Bake-Off Challenge (baking)
• Day 5: Final Flush Challenge (therapy)

We are judging submissions based on creativity and fun! We encourage people to think outside the box (so long as it’s tasteful).

Eligibility

Participants are eligible to participate from anywhere in the world, as long as they are over the ages of 18 years, or have at least one member who is over 18 years old.

The Grant Prize of a year’s supply of Reel bamboo toilet paper is only available for participants in the US, but we have participation prizes for people elsewhere, as well! Family members of any company and organization hosting and running this game are welcome to participate but are exempt from winning the Grand Prize.

Submission Rules

• Social Media: Participants must post videos & pictures on Instagram (stories and/or feed posts) and/or Twitter.
• Hashtags: Submissions must include the hashtags #FlushAway2020 and another hashtag with the name of their team to be considered eligible for inclusion.
• One Team, One Account: Participant accounts submitting their posts has to remain the same throughout the game to make sure we can keep track of who is who! Feel free to team up with others, just note that there should be just one account for the submissions and the Grand Prize will be sent to the address of the account holder.
• Tag Us: Oh! You should also tag us on your submissions:
• Twitter: @flush_wash | @LondonLooTours | @poop_project | @reelpaperco
• Instagram: @flushllc | @londonlootours | @poop_project | @reelpaper
• Deadlines: Submissions for each day must be shared by 5am EST / 10am GMT the following day, sent with the same IG account. Make sure to have a decent internet connection to submit on time!
• Raffle Prize: Teams participating will receive up to two raffle tickets per day they participate, one for submitting and one for demonstrating extra creativity or effort. The raffle tickets will be given to the account holder that submitted the posts. Submit at least two times and you already win a prize – free admission into one of the team’s events. Submit all five days and you can attend two of the team’s events for free. The grand prize will be raffled off at the end to one winner. The more you submit, the more chances you have to win!

Content Rules

• Prove It’s You: A body part of a real, living person must be included in the post to prove you really completed the challenge.
• Freedom to Share: Submissions are agreeing that the hosting organizations can download and use their videos and pictures for promotional use in the future (i.e., a recap video, etc.).
• Keep it Tasteful: Pictures or videos that include real poo or sensitive materials (aka genitalia) are automatically disqualified and will be reported as abuse on social media.

Have any questions or need some more information? Feel free to email us at kim@flushwash.org.

USAID Market-Based Sanitation Study in Burkina Faso and Niger

ViMPlus is part of USAID’s Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced II (RISE) initiative, which supports vulnerable communities in Burkina Faso and Niger to effectively prepare for and manage recurrent crises and pursue sustainable pathways out of poverty. 

Victory against malnutritionplus (ViMPlus): WASH markets assessment report. USAID, 2020. This report was prepared by Ali Dissa and Zakari Bouraima contracted by Save the Children under the Victory Against Malnutrition Plus (ViMPlus) Activity.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
RAPID DESK REVIEW
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS
RESULTS
RESULTS FROM THE RAPID DESK REVIEW
GLOBAL LESSONS LEARNED FROM MARKET BASED SANITATION (MBS)
IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER MBS ACTIVITIES IN BURKINA FASO
RESULTS FROM THE DATA COLLECTION
RESULTS FROM THE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
CURRENT HOUSEHOLD DRINKING WATER PRACTICES
TYPES OF LATRINES USED BY HOUSEHOLDS
HOUSEHOLD DECISION MAKING AROUND WASH PRODUCTS
BARRIERS AND FINANCING OF LATRINES .
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW RESULTS
MAPPING OF RISK AND MITIGATION MEASURES
DISCUSSION
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Photo essay on waste pickers – USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program

Each year, eight million metric tons of plastic pour into the world’s oceans caused largely by ineffective solid waste management systems of rapidly urbanizing coastal cities in developing countries. The situation would be even more dire without the efforts of millions of waste pickers, many of whom operate in the informal sector.

They collect and recycle materials that would otherwise go into landfills and illegal dumpsites or leak into the environment. “Despite their absence from most urban-development plans, waste pickers remain some of the most effective, affordable, and necessary waste managers and recyclers on earth, protecting both land and sea,” according to Taylor Cass Talbott, Reducing Waste in Coastal Cities Project Officer with Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing & Organizing.

Despite their contributions, waste pickers often find themselves marginalized, stigmatized, and unappreciated, laboring in difficult, unsafe conditions and without adequate protections. As part of our broader efforts to combat ocean plastics pollution, USAID is supporting waste pickers across Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program is providing training and equipping waste collectors, strengthening Independent Waste Collector organizations, and supporting their advocacy efforts.

Link to Photo Essay.