Promoting Sanitation in Small Towns

NAMWASH 3 PRIORITIES:

THE SMAll TOWNS WATER, SANITATION ANd HygIENE PROgRAMME IN NAMPulA The Small Towns Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme in Nampula Province, or NAMWASH, was launched in 2012 to address poor health outcomes through WASH interventions in five small towns along the Nacala Corridor, including Rapale. Expected development along the Nacala Corridor is likely to place significant strains on WASH services, due to population growth resulting from mineral resources channeled through the corridor from coalmines in Tete to the Nacala Port on the eastern seaboard. The five towns of the programme were therefore selected based on their high economic and population growth potential. The programme’s goal was to increase access to clean water and effective sanitation, and promote appropriate hygiene practices through the rehabilitation and expansion of the water supply systems and mobilization of communities. NAMWASH was implemented between 2012 and 2014 and was a partnership between the Government of Mozambique through the Administration of Water and Sanitation Infrastructures (AIAS), UNICEF and the Government of Australia.

NAMPulA

SANITATION

HygIENE

WATER

INvOlvINg THE cOMMuNITy

Ana Paula Manuel lives alone with her seven grand-children in Rapale, a small town in Nampula province in Mozambique. With a water supply system dating back to the 1960s and largely inoperable, the 25 thousand inhabitants of Rapale are woefully underserved. Water is mainly accessed through unprotected wells and hand-pumps. Ana Paula used to have a traditional latrine, like everyone else in Rapale, made of local materials such as bamboo or grass, but like most of her neighbors, she had no hand-washing facilities.

That was before the sanitation competitions. Ana Paula says that a local NGO visited their neighborhood several times to explain the benefits of improved latrines and why it is important to wash hands with soap or ash, but the families still did not built new improved latrines with a slab made of concrete, which is the minimum sanitation standard for urban small towns according to the Government of Mozambique’s standards. Many children die each year from poor sanitation, hygiene and unsafe water. Building an improved latrine not only means greater dignity and privacy, but it creates a cleaner environment and breaks the transmission cycle of sanitation related diseases. Ana Paula also heard the same message on the local radio station. The NGO she is referring to reached thousands of people like Ana Paula since 2012 with hygiene and sanitation messages. But at the end of nearly a year’s worth of promotion, improved sanitation facilities still remained at a very low level, with only about 360 households installing improved facilities across five towns.

◀ The NgO she is referring to has reached thousands of people like Ana Paula since 2012 with hygiene and sanitation messages.

For Ana Paula and many other families in her town, messages communicated through the NGO and radios were clear and convincing. In order to stay healthy, it was important to improve the traditional latrines and install hand-washing facilities.

“The local radio programmes also made it clear that a good and improved latrine must have a slab of concrete, a roof, a lid and a door,” says the grandmother of seven. “But most importantly, with so many children in the house, we need a place to wash our hands.”

However, with seven small children to feed and educate, she could never prioritize an improved latrine. This was also often true of many other families in Rapale.

Barriers to consumers’ investment in improved sanitation were identified, and included: low or competing priorities, lack of awareness about available sanitation products, suppliers, and preferences of households, as well as financial constraints. While income and costs were found to be key barriers in a household’s decision to purchase a latrine, they were not the only ones. The market in small towns in Nampula is characterized by a general lack of demand for sanitation products and services. The sanitation market was dominated by little product diversity with few low cost options. Local artisans reported facing a number of challenges in developing their businesses such as lack of capital, inadequate training on improved sanitation practices, lack of access to materials and appropriate tools. The artisans also seemed to rely on a passive sales approach, with little to no resources put into the identification and development of potential customers. The table below presents the demand and supply assessment carried out in Ribáuè and Rapale, including proposed actions.

BARRIERS TO IMPROvEd SANITATION

Barriers Proposed Actions

low prioritization of improved sanitation or low priorities

Stimulate demand for a durable hygienic sanitation alternative through interpersonal communication and mid media techniques (community Education and Participation – cEP)

lack of awareness about available products, suppliers and consumer preferences

Training of local artisans to introduce, advertise and sell products, including basic business managementCampaign to advertise the products produced by artisans.

low income Initial support provided by NAMWASH through a sanitation competition that relies on local government, local organisations and active household contribution and participation

TABlE 1: BARRIERS TO cONSuMERS’ INvESTMENT IN IMPROvEd SANITATION

(Source: UNICEF, 2013)

HOuSEHOld SANITATION STRATEgy IN SMAll TOWNS

Based on the key findings, a sanitation plan of action focusing on demand, supply and creating an enabling environment was developed and implemented in 2013 (see figure below). The action plan aimed to create demand for improved sanitation and hand-washing facilities by using a combination of interpersonal and mix-media communication techniques. At the same time, the supply of sanitation products was increased ensuring options both attractive and affordable to low income households. The approach is based on practices employed in the private sector, and includes the traditional Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. Furthermore, an enabling environment was created by building the capacity of local authorities and leaders who took the lead of the implementation process.

▶ capacity building of local government to promote sanitation partnership with local organizations and private sector

SANITATION PlAN Of AcTION

2. SuPPly (HARdWARE) 3. ENABlINg ENvIRONMENT ▶ community mobilisation ▶ Mix-media ▶ Sanitation competitions

▶ Training of local artisans ▶ Alternative low cost products ▶ Hardware ▶ Provision of tools through local government

1. dEMANd (PROMOTION)

SANITATION cOMPETITIONS

In August 2013, sanitation competitions were organized, in an effort to stimulate household demand for durable hygienic latrines, and to support existing local artisans in diversifying and marketing their products. The aim was also to help link local suppliers with households willing to improve their sanitation facilities.

Ten neighborhoods in Ribáuè and Rapale entered the competition, which lasted until the end of March 2014. These neighborhoods were selected based on their urban character. The competitions took a participatory approach. Families who had already dug a hole, built walls around it, and collected sand, gravel and water, were provided with cement, iron and technical assistance from a local sanitation artisan to build slabs for their latrines. Families were expected to install a roof, door and a hand-washing point after having installed the slabs.

One of the participants was Antonieta Araujo, a 22-year old, living alone with eight children, four of whom are hers. Antioneta now has a brand new and improved toilet, which she built with the help of local artisans.

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Rafael is the community leader for his neighborhood in Ribáuè. “During the competition, I went out among the community every single day to explain why it is important to have an improved latrine. Some families were reluctant and still are, but many considered this a great opportunity to improve the condition of their traditional latrines,” says Rafael. “Families even came to visit me from neighborhoods that were not competing wanting to join in. The competition in my town might be over, but for me the work is not. I still have neighbors who use traditional latrines and who do not have a hand-washing unit. This is not only bad for them, but for the rest of the neighborhood including my children.”

Community leaders such as Rafael played a vital part during the competition, mobilising families, neigh-bors and friends. Their engagement was essential in drumming up genuine enthusiasm and support for the initiative.

An additional focus during the competition included access to sanitation facilities for persons with physical disabilities. Consultations with persons with disabilities in the 10 neighborhoods were undertaken to identify local solutions and tools to improve access to appropriate sanitation facilities. One of the persons consulted was Bernando Hermano, whose physical disability prevented him from accessing the family toilet. He was therefore dependent on his five-year old son Favorito to help him. “If the latrine door was wider and the room more spacious, I would be able to enter by myself with the wheelchair,” Bernando said during the workshop that was organised to address inclusive sanitation facilities. With help from local artisans and the municipality, accessible and appropriate facilities were built for persons living with disabilities, including Bernando, who were not able to participate in the competitions.

SANITATION fOR All – NO ExcEPTIONS

“Our community leader came to visit me one day and told me about the competition and the importance of a hand-washing point near the toilet,” she says. “So I collected sand, water and gravel and dug a hole as the community leader advised me to. The tippy-tap has a bar of soap. I did not know that it was that important to use soap or ashes when you wash your hands,” admits Antonieta.

Complementing the competition, sanitation and hygiene promotion was conducted through a mix of media and face-to-face communication activities in the two towns. While a local NGO was engaging with families and pro-moting sanitation and hygiene messages, the Institute for Social Communication (ICS) reinforced these sanita-tion and hygiene key messages through their daily radio programmes and mobile unit sessions. The use of mixed media was also reinforcing programme credibility among opinion leaders, and provided equal access to information to all potential beneficiaries.

uSINg MulTIPlE cOMMuNIcATION cHANNElS

A set of participatory activities and demonstrations were used to catalyse communities and create demand to improve their sanitation facilities. Key sanitation and hygiene messages were reinforced through daily radio broadcasts and mobile units.

community leaders such as Rafael played a vital part during the competition, mobilising families,

neighbors and friends.

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ENABlINg ENvIRONMENTGaining support for the sanitation competitions and working with local artisans could not have succeeded without the influence of municipal and district govern-ment leadership, which prioritised access to improved sanitation for its constituents and was open to alterna-tive approaches. Local authorities were responsible for the management, implementation and monitoring of the competitions, and worked closely with community leaders, local NGOs and the radio stations that mobilized communities.

cREATINg A SANITATION MARKETFour local artisans are sitting in their ateliers, discussing a strategy on how to better market and sell their sanitation products. Manuel, Francisco, Matias and Agostinho, four of ten artisans trained by NAMWASH, run a workshop together, building and selling their products.

While demand was encouraged through the sanitation competition, the supply of products was supported by helping local businesses respond to the growing demand. As a first step, ten existing artisans like Manuel, Fransisco, Matias and Agostino were identified in Ribáuè and Rapale and a two-week training in sanitation technologies was offered, helping them standardise and improve the quality of their products, as well as build cheaper slabs.

Matias says that many of the artisans had never built any sanitation products prior to the training. During interviews with the artisans, they all expressed similar thoughts around demand for sanitation products, which they agreed was low. Training in sanitation-related construction was often on-the-job and only word-of-mouth marketing was employed.

Their services were then introduced to the competing neighborhoods. The artisans offered different latrine options directly to households, communicating prices, key features, and instructions on installation and operation. Their training in marketing, sales and administration skills thus came in handy. A business plan for the artisans was developed with the support of NAMWASH. The certified artisans will continue to receive support and training, and successful ones will be linked to local government’s hygiene and sanitation activities, helping them maintain a business in the long run.

Bruno Ambrique, 27, is the municipality technician, responsible for water and sanitation issues in Ribáuè.

“Whenever an NGO implements water and sanit-ation related programmes, it has to go through me,” says Bruno. “I approve and monitor all their activi-ties. I monitored the competition every week and I was also responsible for all payments. I also or-ganised meetings with involved stakeholders, such as community leaders, to identify challenges and drivers. Advocacy meetings and workshops at the community level for town leaders were held by us prior and during the competition. Once key leaders were engaged, they worked alongside the local NGO, mobilising communities,” Bruno explains.

lESSONS lEARNEd The sanitation competition proved to be an effective tool in mobilising neighborhoods and households in peri-urban areas, and in engaging community leaders.

A combination of person-to-person communication and mid-media techniques proved to be an efficient tool in stimulating the interest of households in peri-urban settings.

Local governments are willing to play a major role in sanitation provision to households. They promote sanitation in their communities and become involved in key implementation activities such as monitoring, certification and even recruitment of local artisans.

Training of artisans to introduce, advertise and sell products, including basic business management will help them diversify and market their products. The key to success lies also in linking local suppliers with households willing to improve their sanitation facilities.

The final evaluation of the sanitation competitions was un-dertaken by Administration for Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure (AIAS), Provincial Directorate of Public Works and Housing (DPOPH) Nampula and local governments together with UNICEF, at the end of March 2014. A rep-resentative selection of families in the ten competing neigh-borhoods were visited and their new sanitation facilities evaluated. In Ribáuè, 1169 slabs were produced by trained artisans, with 1002 of them installed, 841 (84%) of which re-sulting in improved latrines. In Rapale, 846 slabs were pro-duced by trained artisans, with 720 slabs installed, 633 (88 %) of which resulting in improved latrines. In total, the com-petition resulted in 1474 improved latrines, providing 7 370 people with improved sanitation facilities in the ten neigh-borhoods in Rapale and Ribáuè. Families were very motivat-ed and latrines were under construction when the evaluation team undertook its visit. By the end of May 2014, the local NGO and local authorities reported that over 11.000 people had improved latrines as a result of this initiative, at a cost of $18 per unit for hardware, and $24 for software (mobilisation, training). The overall cost per beneficiary is $8,5.

cOMPETITION RESulTS

THE SANITATION cOMPETITION RESulTEd IN:

▶ An increased number of families with improved latrines. Almost all families that had installed slabs through the competition had walls, a roof and a door/privacy.

▶ cleaner environment, there was no sign of open defecation and the neighborhoods were cleaner than previously.

▶ Improved hygiene practices. More families had hand-washing facilities, either provided by the local NgO or acquired by themselves.

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