Kampala is a city of over 3.5 million people and only an estimated 180km of sewer lines, certainly below what is needed. In rapidly expanding urban environments like Kampala, fixed-point sanitation solutions such as pit latrines and septic tanks must be emptied, and the waste disposed of hygienically to avoid spreading disease.
In 2015, after a decade of approaching rural sanitation by subsidizing latrine construction with minimal results, the Government of Senegal launched a new strategy for rural sanitation defined by a transfer of responsibility for the acquisition of sanitation services to communities. This created an opportunity for market-based approaches for increased sanitation outcomes.
Like many of us, Fatou Badji balances a hectic schedule. She is the chairlady of a women's group that sells onions and other essentials. She is also on the frontlines of addressing the global sanitation crisis.
Today, six in 10 people lack proper sanitation, costing economies $260 billion annually. Poor sanitation leads to the deaths of more than a quarter-million children annually, and affects the safety of women and girls.
This blog originally appeared on PSI’s website.
Paul Kpadonou began his career as an entrepreneur on the side of the highway.
As he sold garden decorations from his roadside business, Paul dreamed of creating a successful enterprise in his suburban town of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. His shot at prosperity came with the “WC Mimin” brand of toilets, which he discovered during a campaign promoting the product.
The goal of rural water and sanitation investments is sustainable, long-term solutions to service challenges—yet donors and practitioners rarely measure the durability of project outcomes. Evaluations conducted midstream or shortly after project completion fail to adequately capture what water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) approaches are sustainable.
Since 2016, USAID/Ghana, through its WASH For Health program, has been working with 35 local Rotary clubs and governmental agencies to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions for more than 75,000 people, by 2020, as part of the Rotary–USAID public-private partnership.
NIKHALAMO is a word in the local language (Chuabo) and means, freely translated, “Girl Child, Stay in School”. The objective of the 4-year (2015-2018) NIKHALAMO Project is to ensure that vulnerable girls in Namacurra district (Zambezia Province) complete upper primary school and transit to lower secondary schools (6th and 7th grades). The project is implemented by ADPP Mozambique (Development Aid from People to People).
USAID increasing access to basic sanitation through Digni Loo. The video includes and interview with Akua Kwarteng Addo, Director of Health Population and Nutrition, at USAID/Ghana. It was produced by GoodLife, Live It Well, the Government of Ghana’s flagship public health communication brand.
This article from the World Toilet Day 2017 issue of Global Waters Stories describes how the Digni-loo—an innovative, affordable latrine—is improving sanitation for households in Ghana.
