Waste-to-Value Sanitation in Kakuma Refugee Camp

Market-based solutions are increasingly seen as having an important role in filling gaps in public services provision and bring increased efficiency to humanitarian assistance. UNHCR partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to investigate waste-to-value sanitation solutions for areas with difficult ground conditions in protracted refugee camp settings in East Africa. In response to a call for sanitation solutions for difficult ground conditions in refugee settings, Sanivation introduced an innovative market-based solution with a waste-to-value component to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.

This report examines the business model and financial model that Sanivation developed during the project and illustrates some of the real world challenges and opportunities for waste-to-value sanitation. It is hoped that the insights from this research will provide a useful reference for potential investors and entrepreneurs, as well as humanitarian practitioners looking to design self-sustaining waste-to-value sanitation services in refugee and low-resource settings in the future.

Download the full report.

 

Orlando Hernandez – Behavioral Challenges and Potential Solutions to Reach Universal Sanitation Coverage

Behavioral Challenges and Potential Solutions to Reach Universal Sanitation Coverage by Orlando Hernandez, USAID/WASHplus Project and Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, Global Health, Population and Nutrition (GHPN), FHI 360.

The comments below are from Dr. Hernandez’s participation at the World Water Forum 2015 and then posted to the Sanitation and Water for All website.

Behavior change specialists rely on frameworks to dissect a problem and define a strategy to address it. The Water Improvement Framework (WIF), previously named the Hygiene Improvement Framework (HIF) developed in connection to USAID WASH projects some 15 years ago, is one such framework. Given its openness and comprehensiveness, the WIF has stood the test of time. Other donors and implementation agencies are thinking along the same lines as there are other similar frameworks developed by WSP, SVN, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, among others.

The WIF is a three-legged stool which brings together: 1) supply, 2) demand, and 3) the enabling environment. It suggests that behavior change (BC) strategies are more than mere promotion, channels and messages. They bring a human dimension to the WASH sector, and when based on the WIF’s the three elements, it guides us to design, implement and evaluate WASH activities.  

Behavior change frameworks require us to segment our audiences as social groups involved in development are not monolithic. One obvious breakdown in sanitation is a split between urban, peri-urban and rural dwellers. The needs, preferences, sanitation practices and certainly resources of urban, peri-urban and rural populations may be different. With growing urbanization throughout the developing world, coverage in peri-urban areas represent a challenge, especially when we think of tenants living in crowded quarters with no services.

An update from Sanivation in Kenya

Below are updates from Sanivation, check out the latest newsletter for more information on Sanivation projects and activities. 

One thing we believe in our bones is the customer is king. Over the past couple months, we have been sharing meals, asking questions, and collecting feedback from customers on both toilets and fuel. We have captured some inspiring quotes and wanted to share them with you. This month we will be introducing each short update in this newsletter with a quote from one of our customers.

Learnings from Kakuma: “Two people came and commented positively on my new latrine. One person came, a Somali lady, and asked me if I could sell it to her.” 

We’re currently processing (and soon to be publishing!) all of our learnings from Kakuma. From initial glances, the refugees were not only were satisfied but became promoters of the approach.After an initial review of feedback, we found that the refugees were not only satisfied but also became promoters of the approach. Already, one of our big lessons has been in the power of instituting quick feedback loops and a customer service approach to toilets. We feel honored to have worked with such great partners and are looking forward to continuing work with UNHCR, NRC, and CDC on how to bring this approach to even more refugees. The US Embassy Nairobi made an awesome video of our work. Check it out!

Team Sanivation Wins Best Toilet Award!

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Best toilet award goes to…a group of Georgia Tech undergraduate students called Team Sanivation!

The students have been working with our Global WASH team and the nonprofit Sanivation and won the prestigious InVenture Prize for their design of the Safi Choo Toilet.

(Left to right) Jasmine Burton, Brandie Banner and Erin Cobb

Some say this award is the most esteemed (and hardest to earn) that Georgia Tech has and was presented on live TV on Wednesday. InVenture is an annual contest that rewards undergraduate students for big innovations that aim to solve the world’s problems and attracted 560 students this year.

Team Sanivation received $20,000, a free U.S. patent filing by Georgia Tech’s Office of Technology Licensing, and a spot in this summer’s class of Flashpoint, a Georgia Tech startup accelerator program. They also received the $5,000 People’s Choice Award.

Thanks to Ciara O’Reilly, Jen Murphy and Jamae Morris of CDC for their work with Sanivation.