Rural Sanitation Research Articles

Households’ Toilet Facility in Rural India: Socio-spatial Analysis

The 2030 agenda on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the importance of sanitation and sets the Goal #6: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. While rural households in India have witnessed a marginal improvement in access to toilet facility in recent decades, they continue to face high levels of deprivation along with spatial and socio-economic disparities and exclusions, which have been highlighted in this article using data from Census of India, National Sample Surveys and Baseline Survey. Determinants of households having access to latrine facility in the house have been estimated using an econometric exercise and contribution of caste-based factors of the gap in access among various social groups have been estimated using decomposition technique on household-level information from National Sample Survey data. Households located in backward regions and belonging to the weaker sections of society, such as poor, wage labourers, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, have been found to be the most deprived and excluded. Thus, there is an urgent need to pace up the developmental efforts for rural sanitation to achieve the SDGs, along with complementary measures to focus on backward regions, weaker sections and socio-spatial position of households in rural India.

Towards sustainable sanitation management: Establishing the costs and willingness to pay for emptying and transporting sludge in rural districts with high rates of access to latrines.

MotivationProper management of fecal sludge has significant positive health and environmental externalities. Most research on managing onsite sanitation so far either simulates the costs of, or the welfare effects from, managing sludge in situ in pit latrines. Thus, designing management strategies for onsite rural sanitation is challenging, because the actual costs of transporting sludge for treatment, and sources for financing these transport costs, are not well understood.MethodsIn this paper we calculate the actual cost of sludge management from onsite latrines, and identify the contributions that latrine owners are willing to make to finance the costs. A spreadsheet-based model is used to identify a cost-effective transport option, and to calculate the cost per household. Then a double-bound contingent valuation method is used to elicit from pit-latrine owners their willingness-to-pay to have sludge transported away. This methodology is employed for the case of a rural subdistrict in Bangladesh called Bhaluka, a unit of administration at which sludge management services are being piloted by the Government of Bangladesh.ResultsThe typical sludge accumulation rate in Bhaluka is calculated at 0.11 liters/person/day and a typical latrine will need to be emptied approximately once every 3 to 4 years. The costs of emptying and transport are high; approximately USD 13 per emptying event (circa 14% of average monthly income); household contributions could cover around 47% of this cost. However, if costs were spread over time, the service would cost USD 4 per year per household, or USD 0.31 per month per household—comparable to current expenditures of rural households on telecommunications.ConclusionThis is one of few research papers that brings the costs of waste management together with financing of that cost, to provide evidence for an implementable solution. This framework can be used to identify cost effective sludge management options and private contributions towards that cost in other (context-specific) administrative areas where onsite sanitation is widespread.

Sustainability in Practice: Experiences from Rural Water and Sanitation Services in West Africa

Sustainability in water and sanitation, understood as the durability of services with a set of agreed characteristics over time, is a major challenge, particularly in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This fundamental issue must be addressed if the Sustainable Development Goals for universal access to water and sanitation are to be achieved. Major international organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) need to work alongside governments to improve sustainability. This paper describes the framework for sustainability programming developed by UNICEF, which is based on a collaborative and iterative learning and adaptive approach, underpinned by regular sustainability spot checks that inform a wider national sustainability agreement. The paper details the results of application of this framework in eight West African countries over the period 2013–2015. Results show the usefulness of the framework in identifying sustainability challenges and acting upon them. However, the continuous adaptation of programs is challenging for governments and international organizations. At the same time, structural aspects that threaten sustainability (e.g., lack of capacity) cannot be addressed in the short term. Further cycles of application of the framework will continue to provide evidence on the successes and limitations of the approach and inform its evolution into a stable country led-framework.

Design and rationale of a matched cohort study to assess the effectiveness of a combined household-level piped water and sanitation intervention in rural Odisha, India

IntroductionGovernment efforts to address massive shortfalls in rural water and sanitation in India have centred on construction of community water sources and toilets for selected households. However, deficiencies with water...

Evaluation of Development Programs: Using Regressions to Assess the Impact of Complex Interventions

There is a growing interest in extending project evaluation methods to the evaluation of programs: complex interventions involving multiple activities. In general a program evaluation cannot be based on separate evaluations of its components since interactions between the activities are likely to be important. We propose a measure of program impact, the total program effect (TPE), which is an extension of the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET). Regression techniques can be applied to observational data from a representative sample to estimate the TPE for complex interventions in the presence of selection effects and treatment heterogeneity. As an example we present an estimate of the TPE for a rural water supply and sanitation program in Mozambique. Estimating the TPE from randomized controlled trials would appear to be an alternative; however, the scope for using RCTs in this context is limited.

Determinants of Sanitary Practices in Rural Odisha

Proper sanitation, hygiene and cleanliness are some of the key indicators of quality of life. The present paper attempts to study the status of sanitation in rural Odisha and explore its determinants. The paper is based on both primary as well as secondary data. The relative position of districts in rural sanitation is analysed with help of census data. The analysis observes that there is a significant regional divide in ‘access to toilets’ across the districts of Odisha. The backward districts are lying way below the relatively advanced coastal districts of the state. Moreover, for an investigation at a disaggregated level, we had taken 109 households from a village cluster for a case study. The study observes that caste category, occupation and government subsidy are the important factors influencing the sanitary practices of the study areas. The paper advocates for continuance of government subsidy with better targeting, and a massive awareness drive by the government to change the sordid state of open defecation in the state.

Sustainability of rural water systems: quantitative analysis of Nicaragua’s monitoring data

The sustainability of rural water supply services (WSS) remains one of the core challenges of the rural water sector in Nicaragua. The data available through the Central American Rural Water and Sanitation Information System in Nicaragua (SIASAR, in Spanish) is utilized to investigate the factors that drive the sustained functionality and quality of rural WSS systems over time. This report uses data from 6,863 communities, 4,792 water systems, 2,585 service providers, and 154 technical assistance (TA) providers contained in the SIASAR dataset. Statistical and econometric analysis provide evidence to support the hypothesis – widespread among rural WSS practitioners – that ‘soft’ measures in the provision of WSS are effective in fostering sustainability or ‘functionality’ of those systems. Such ‘soft’ measures include management capacity building of WSS community boards in charge of WSS oversight; demand-responsive approaches for developing, operating, managing, maintaining, rural water infrastructure; cost recovery mechanisms; community participation in the management of WSS systems; and the sustained provision of post-construction TA by local authorities. These measures are found as important determinants of the sustainability of WSS and its investments, and therefore are recommended to be included and institutionalized in rural WSS sector development policies.

Monitoramento da água de poços como estratégia de avaliação sanitária em Comunidade Rural na Cidade de São Luís, MA, Brasil

Como ações de saneamento são escassas ou inexistentes no meio rural, o monitoramento das fontes de água permite o diagnóstico dos riscos e da precariedade das situações de saneamento. Neste estudo foi monitorado sazonalmente a qualidade da água dos poços da comunidade rural “Cinturão Verde” por meio de análises físico-químicas, colimétricas, e parasitológicas para identificação de fontes de contaminação devido à ausência de meios adequados de saneamento. Foram analisadas amostras coletadas em quatro períodos sazonais e detectados coliformes acima dos padrões de potabilidade do Ministério da Saúde nos poços tubulares em três dos quatro períodos sazonais. Foi detectada também a presença de parasita no período seco. Os parâmetros físico-químicos também estavam fora dos padrões da legislação em algumas estações, e foi constatado que esses riscos eram devido à inexistência de serviços de saneamento como: abastecimento com poços sem tratamento, precariedade de esgotamento e proximidade dos mananciais à criação de animais. Conclui-se que o monitoramento permitiu detectar períodos de riscos no uso de águas dos poços, avaliar diferenças regionais, e a necessidade de medidas de desinfecção da água antes de ser utilizada. Estas medidas de saneamento rural podem garantir a proteção dos mananciais de águas subterrâneas.

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE SANITATION IN RURAL SETTLEMENTS

Abstract This paper presents discussion of the problem of rural sanitation economic sustainability, affecting the overall investment agreement with the principles of sustainable development. In our opinion, economic aspects of sustainability, understood as affordability and profitability of the investment are crucial because they affect the social acceptance and willingness to pay by the members of rural communities. Additionally, it was proposed to use the well-known decision-making indicators of cost efficiency to assess the economic sustainability of rural sanitation. Four different variants of rural sanitation, centralized and decentralized, utilizing up-to-date state of art and technologies, were developed and tested with use of NPV, BCR and DGC indicators. The performed multivariate analysis using Weighted Sum Model showed the low profitability of centralized systems of rural sanitation, thus their sustainability may be questioned from economic and social point of view.

Airing ‘clean air’ in Clean India Mission

The submission explores the possibility of a policy revision for considering clean air quality in recently launched nationwide campaign, Clean India Mission (CIM). Despite of several efforts for improving availability of clean household energy and sanitation facilities, situation remain still depressing as almost half of global population lacks access to clean energy and proper sanitation. Globally, at least 2.5 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation facilities. There are also evidences of 7 million premature deaths by air pollution in year 2012. The situation is even more disastrous for India especially in rural areas. Although, India has reasonably progressed in developing sanitary facilities and disseminating clean fuel to its urban households, the situation in rural areas is still miserable and needs to be reviewed. Several policy interventions and campaigns were made to improve the scenario but outcomes were remarkably poor. Indian census revealed a mere 31% sanitation coverage (in 2011) compared to 22% in 2001 while 60% of population (700 million) still use solid biofuels and traditional cook stoves for household cooking. Further, last decade (2001-2011) witnessed the progress decelerating down with rural households without sanitation facilities increased by 8.3 million while minimum progress has been made in conversion of conventional to modern fuels. To revamp the sanitation coverage, an overambitious nationwide campaign CIM was initiated in 2014 and present submission explores the possibility of including 'clean air' considerations within it. The article draws evidence from literatures on scenarios of rural sanitation, energy practises, pollution induced mortality and climatic impacts of air pollution. This subsequently hypothesised with possible modification in available technologies, dissemination modes, financing and implementation for integration of CIM with 'clean air' so that access to both sanitation and clean household energy may be effectively addressed.

Policy processes in rural sanitation: the case of CLTS in India

Against a backdrop of an ineffective rural sanitation campaign by the Indian Government, in the late 2000s several stakeholders tried to introduce an innovative participatory approach called Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). However, these efforts faced complicated political processes that determined their success.In this research, these processes are analyzed, using Budni block in the state of Madhya Pradesh as a case study, with a theoretical framework focused on political narratives, agents and interests.The efforts to introduce CLTS in Madhya Pradesh were sterile, as they jeopardised the interests of important agents. Locally, Budni block was an exception. Through a collaboration between two key agents —a high level block Government officer and UNICEF— who were able to promote the CLTS narrative successfully and to manage strategically the interests of those involved, it was possible to implement a coherent campaign coherent CLTS sanitation.

Diagnosis of Giardia duodenalis Infection using Dot Blot in Comparison with Microscopy

Giardia duodenalis is an intestinal flagellate parasite which spreads all over the world and is considered as a health problem in the most rural and low sanitation areas. Many diagnostic tests have been developed for the detection of Giardia parasite in stool samples but all of them have some disadvantages such as lack of sensitivity and specificity. In search for a simple and accurate test, diagnosis of Giardia infection using dot blot method has been investigated in this work. In this descriptive study, 30 stool samples which their infection with Giardia were confirmed by direct examination and formalin ether considered as case group. Thirty stool samples without Giardia infection according to formalin ether examination were also considered as a control group. Giardia cysts were isolated from the stool samples using sucrose method. In order to raise antiserum against Giardia cysts, the purified cysts were then sonicated and injected to a rabbit. A mono specific antiserum against the 66KDa band of Giardia cyst antigen was also prepared. The two antisera were used in the dot blot test. Finally, the sensitivity and specificity of the dot-blot method were estimated by considering formalin ether as the gold standard. When Poly specific antiserum was used, the sensitivity and specificity of the dot blot for detection of Giardia infection were 77% and 64% respectively. However the sensitivity and specificity of this assay were 97% and 64% respectively when monospecific antiserum was used. It seems that dot blot is an easy method for the diagnosis of Giardia especially in the rural areas. However more work is recommended for further development of this test.

Exploring the use of social network analysis to inform exit strategies for rural water and sanitation NGOs

ABSTRACTWhile integrated management schemes often improve resolution of technical issues with rural water and sanitation (WatSan) infrastructure, the challenges they can present are more complex. One example is the proper communication between stakeholders, a challenge that is magnified when the service is constructed and managed by a non-governmental organization (NGO) that later leaves the management structure. This study investigates an approach to visualize and quantitatively evaluate how communication between stakeholders influences resolution efforts, using social network analysis (SNA). The methods employed here are demonstrated with a case study in the municipality of Dario, Nicaragua, where a large WatSan NGO is planning its exit strategy. Survey data were used to construct weighted social networks representing the efficacy of communication links and pathways on both water and sanitation service resolution in Dario. SNA was then used to evaluate the potential implications of the NGO’s disengageme...

Adopters and Non-Adopters of Low-Cost Household Latrines: A Study of Corbelled Pit Latrines in 15 Districts of Malawi

The Sustainable Development Goals will challenge low- and middle-income settings to look at new approaches for rural sanitation. In 2013, Mzuzu University, in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Malawi, started a low-cost latrine program in rural areas using the corbelled latrine design supported by locally owned sustainable businesses. The objective of this work was to trace customers (early household adopters) and non-customers through field observations and interviews in 15 districts of Malawi. The research team spent 193 personnel work days in data collection and found 21 households as adopters in 7 districts. Most respondents had a preference with regard to the design of the sanitation facility they would like to use. Although sharing of sanitation facilities was common, the corbelled latrine is promoted as a single household pit latrine design. Unfortunately, 8% (23/304) of non-adopters responded they practiced open defecation. Households were satisfied with the corbelled latrine design, and no latrine was found to have collapsed during field visits. To promote the corbelled latrine in Malawi, the following are recommended: (1) education of frontline government extension workers towards non-subsidized household latrines; (2) identification of rural low-income households as the best target for potential adopters; and (3) linkage of low-cost sanitation technologies to community mobilization campaigns led by the government, such as Community Led Total Sanitation.

Towards Community Resilience, Focus on a Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Project in Swaziland

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of different approaches of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in reducing and mitigating against potential risk of disaster and promoting community resilience. Lack of access to safe water supply, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene practices are among the leading causes of illness, death and malnutrition in developing countries. Using a resilience conceptual framework in the design of research, pre and post Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys were administered to 450 randomly selected beneficiaries of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) supported WASH program in six constituencies that are prone to drought and water borne diseases. Guided direct observation was used to assess the status WASH infrastructure at project inception and completion. Results of the study indicated increases in the percentage of target population with access to safe water, water usage in litres per person and improvement in sanitation and hygiene practices. They were improvements in the community participation, learning and capacity in use and management of WASH infrastructure meaning that effective promotion of WASH during relief, recovery and development programming to build infrastructure and human capacity prepares communities to face future WASH related hazards.

O sertão na saúde e na formação de trabalhadores setoriais: contextos, atores e ideologias (1920-1970)

RESUMO Artigo analisa a agenda das políticas e discursos sobre saneamento rural no Brasil (1920-1970). Temática tradicional dos sanitaristas será discutida com base nas experiências desenvolvidas, especialmente nas interações com a Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde/Organização Mundial da Saúde (Opas/OMS), organismo internacional que, com lideranças nacionais, retomará, sob renovados termos, o sertão na agenda sanitária e na formação de trabalhadores. Analisa-se a literatura e fontes documentais. Conclui que houve mudanças no teor dos discursos e práticas da chamada interiorização dos serviços de saúde no contexto do pós-guerra, sobretudo naquilo que tange à centralidade das discussões acerca do planejamento e formação de trabalhadores.

When good practices by water committees are not relevant: Sustainability of small water infrastructures in semi-arid mozambique

This paper explores the contradiction between the need for large scale interventions in rural water supplies and the need for flexibility when providing support for community institutions, by investigating the implementation of the Mozambique - National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program in a semi-arid district of the Limpopo Basin. Our results showed that coordinated leadership by key committee members, and the level of village governance was more important for borehole sustainability than the normative functioning of the committee. In a context in which the centrality of leadership prevails over collective action the sustainability of rural water infrastructure derives from the ability of leaders to motivate the community to provide supplementary funding. This, in turn, depends on the added value to the community of the water points and on village politics. Any interventions that increased community conflicts, for example because of lack of transparency or unequitable access to the benefit of the intervention, weakened the coordination and the collective action capacity of the community and hence the sustainability of the infrastructures even if the intervention was not directly related to water access. These results stress the importance of the project/program implementation pathway.

The impact of a rural sanitation programme on safe disposal of child faeces: a cluster randomised trial in Odisha, India.

BackgroundUnsafe disposal of child faeces is persistent and may lead to considerable impact on the health of young children. Research is limited on the impact of sanitation or hygiene interventions to improve child faeces disposal practices.MethodsIn the context of a randomised controlled trial to assess the health impact of a programme in Odisha, India, to promote rural sanitation under the Government of India's Total Sanitation Campaign, we explored whether the intervention affected the safe disposal of faeces of children under-5 years of age.ResultsAt baseline, 1.1% of households practised ‘safe’ disposal of child faeces, either disposing it in a toilet or by burial. The intervention increased safe disposal of child faeces to 10.4% in intervention households, compared to 3.1% in the control households (RR 3.34; 95% CI 1.99–5.59). This increase in safe disposal is attributable to increases in latrine presence in the intervention communities; the intervention did not change safe disposal practices above and beyond the increase in latrine coverage.ConclusionsThe very modest increase in safe disposal, while statistically significant, is not likely to have consequential health benefit. To achieve open defecation free communities, sanitation interventions will need to develop behaviour change approaches to explicitly target safe disposal behaviours.

Matriz de impacto para gestão de microbacias com ótica na produtividade agropecuária sustentável e na saúde da população rural: Estudo de caso em quatro regiões da microbacia Rio do Colégio – São Fidélis – RJ

The present work aimed to evaluate the preservation of natural resources River College watershed as well as the health of the rural population. The watershed was divided into sub-areas which were visited, and interviews conducted microbiological analysis of water. An impact matrix based on population health, rural sanitation and the use of natural resources was created. The matrix was effective in identifying the main impacts in each region of the watershed. The highest incidence sewage peridomicilary, was found in the regions of Santo Aleixo and Toca Fria. Lack of management with cattle was a problem observed in all regions analyzed, resulting in a significant increase in E. coli coliform. All interviewed population consumes untreated water. In regions of the Toca Fria, Santo Aleixo and Aracaju the population makes use of free nascent of contamination from domestic sewage, but with access to cattle in most cases. In the Rio do Colégio region some families use water from the main course. High rates of diarrhea and worms coincide with the areas of greatest significance of impact indicated by the matrix. Mitigation measures were presented low economic cost and with high visibility to characterized impacts.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Weaker Sections in Punjab: Performance, Problems and Possible Solutions

The present paper is an attempt to evaluate the socio-economic impact of MGNREGS among beneficiary households and to identify the problems and reasons for poor performance of the scheme in Punjab. The present study points out that majority of the works under the scheme are related with renovation of traditional water bodies, rural connectivity and rural sanitation. The study points out that the socio-economic impact of the scheme is not to the desired level in terms of social empowerment, women empowerment, employment generation, contribution in income, repayment of debt etc. It has been observed during the field survey that majority of the beneficiaries as well as implementing bodies such as panchayat members, secretaries and others are not much familiar with the provisions and processes of this scheme. There is shortage of trained staff for implementing this scheme properly at the grassroots level.