M.S. Candidate, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University
April 2003
This 21-page report on sanitation promotion strategies, written by M.S. Candidate Jennifer McConville for the requirements of a graduate course, examines reasons behind the "disappointing" results to date of large-scale latrine promotion efforts around the world, offers some examples of projects that have had concrete impacts, and proposes a model for continued change in this area of environmental and health development. The premise of this report is that "Current sanitation promotion tactics needs to be reevaluated in order to develop new techniques that meet with wider public appeal."
Despite studies (which McConville cites) showing that latrine coverage must reach 90% of a population to have an impact on community health, 40% of the total world population lack the sanitation that could help prevent the deaths of children from diarrhoeal disease. Barriers to latrine adoption, McConville notes, are largely economic and socio-cultural ("Latrines themselves may be viewed as dirty and evil places....In many cultures women need separate facilities from the men....Cultures may be resistant or reluctant to change. This is especially true when foreign aid workers are responsible for promoting change. There may be feelings of resentment and/or fear of outsiders and their ideas.")
McConville shares a set of case studies that "give examples of success and failure in sanitation promotion around the world" - Guinea, Burkina Faso, China, Bangladesh, and India - gleaning impact data and lessons learned from each. For instance, "The key to sanitation promotion in India has been balancing the technical and social aspects of sanitation services. Since the introduction of community based promotion methods, rural India has seen sanitation coverage increase from nearly zero to 14% while total sanitation coverage increased to 31%. Community involvement and self-financing methods lead to the construction of more than 350,000 latrines in one county alone. An impact evaluation in 1999 showed consistently better excreta disposal practices in communities participating in the promotion programs. The study indicated that future sanitation promotion efforts should focus on social marketing techniques and community management of latrines." Drawing on such examples, McConville finds that "The most common element to successful latrine promotion appears to be community outreach and involvement."
Based on this assessment, she then proposes a 3-step strategy for a successful latrine promotion programme:
In short, knowledge of the local area and people, selection of appropriate messages and technology, and community involvement are, for this author, key strategies for increasing and sustaining use of latrines in developing countries.
Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931 USA
Tel.: (906) 487-2324
Fax: (906) 487-2943
jm41@mtu.edu [6]
International Sustainable Engineering Initiative website [7]
Jennifer McConville
Royal Institute of Technology
Mark och Vattenteknik
Stockholm, SE100 44
Sweden
jrmc@kth.se [8]
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University website [9], and email from James R. Mihelcic, PhD to The Communication Initiative on September 1 2005 and April 16 2007.
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