Life after CLTSTowards total sanitation

10th November 2009

Midrand, South Africa

The story line……….

• Re-stating our problem

• Re-evaluating our sanitation practice

• Re-interpreting

• Rediscovering

• Re-engineering

• Re-affirm our commitment

Re-stating our problem

Sanitation

49%

70%

39%44%

20%

40%

60%

80%

1990 2004 2015

Tota

l San

itatio

n C

over

age

Actual coverage

Continue at same rateRequired rate

Approximately 90 Million Nigerians lack improved sanitation

You can chew for someone but you can’t swallow for them

Percentage of Households Citing as Problem

77

53

46

40

26

22

22

19

Water

Electricity

Poverty

Health care

Roads

Fertiliser

Education

Latrines

0 20 40 60 80 100

Percentage of households citing as problem

Re-assessing the sanitation gaps…

• Sanitation improvements are household and community issues

• Distinguish our “expert” opinions from the voices of the users

• Subsidy trap• Solutions imported from outside

• More equitable and sustainable approach

• WaterAid targeted 16,000 communities over the past 5 years in Bangladesh

• Shame and disgust that led to change

• In 13 communities, access increased from 5% to 46% within 8 month period

CLTS as an alternative

Burkina Faso

Nigeria

Mali

Ghana

Re-interpreting….• Initiative is better received• Greater community ownership• Changes attributed to CLTS are much more significant• Sustained used of latrines• Community feel proud about positive changes• Local material are used instead of concrete slabs• “We can roll out the mat anywhere and lie down and be

happy”• “Neighbouring communities want to be like us”

BUT…• Some communities are resistant to abandoning• 18% reported reverting to open defecation• Socio-cultural causes of open defecation

Clearly, it’s not a poverty related issue…

Equity: open defecation

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Mburubu

Mbaazenger

Mbagbor

Duhuwa

Efopu-Ekile

Igba % OD in disadvantaged households

% OD in rest of community

Our research hypothesis…

Equity: open defecation by ethnic group

48%

1%

76%

100%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Molori

Duhuwa

Fulani

Hausa

We believe that….

• Open defecation is related to factors specific to the culture of the ethno-linguistic groups that practice it;

and..• The collective abandonment of open

defecation will only be achieved through the modification of the social convention which regulates the practice of the group;

and…• Each group has socio-cultural

factors that can be used to produce culturally appropriate responses to encourage the group to abandon open defecation.

• Shame - defecation as a private practice

• Social status - only the rich should own latrines

• Sharing - Obligation to hosts• Superstition - fear of being

possessed• Social pressure• Sacred - Ancestral practices• Smell - offensive and off-putting

Re-discovering… The 7 S findings acting as barriers to abandoning open defecation

Re-engineering….Improving sanitation programming

• Understanding the local context before the start

• Adapting triggers to suit local contexts

• Broad stakeholder involvement

• Skilful and measured facilitation

Our call this afternoon…

• WaterAid – Unicef Partnership in Nigeria• The leadership of the Federal

Government of Nigeria• The Regional Learning Center in West

Africa• Spreading like an epidemic• Together, let’s make it happen…

Thank you for your attention

Idrissa Doucoureidrissadoucoure@wateraid.org