Life after CLTS Towards total sanitation 10 th 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 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

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…

Our research hypothesis…

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 Doucoure