Global Communities’ Approach to CLTS: Enhancing a Proven Methodology for Liberia
The relationship between poor sanitation, water borne disease, mortality and malnutrition is well documented. Statistics about the number of deaths due to diarrhea as well as stunting caused by malnutrition due to poor absorption of nutrients, are broadcast regularly as a way of awakening consciousness about the problem.Yet sanitation has always been the poor cousin when compared with drinking water, in terms of the attention and financial support it has received even though the two are always clubbed together as part of the same sector. This is both a reflection of the relatively lower importance given to sanitation by donors and governments and even more, the limited priority attached to sanitation by those in need of it. As a result, the world remains off track to meet the sanitation MDG target. The key culprit for this is India. Against the global open defecation rate of 15%, in India over 50% of its 1.2 billion population continue to defecate in the open everyday. However, even in this dismal scenario, there are beacons of hope. Himachal Pradesh, one of India’s smaller states with 6.7 million people and a predominantly rural population has shown tremendous improvement in recent years. This case study documents the policy and process which brought about the change and the challenges that remain.
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CLTS in Nigeria
The case studies in this document are based on field visits to 18 ODF and two un-triggered communities in 10 LGAs in five states: Benue, Cross River, Osun, Jigawa and Katsina. The case studies share experience that can support effective scaling up throughout the country. The case studies demonstrate how CLTS has been adapted to suit local contexts in Nigeria without compromising its core principles. They illustrate how local innovation is imperative for scaling up access to improved sanitation. Communities have designed low-cost, fly-proof, odourless sanitary latrines suitable for difficult ground conditions as well as urban areas. The case studies give examples of innovative ways of working to strengthen capacity for hygiene, sanitation and safe water delivery at community, state and LGA level, using WASHCOMs; Natural Leaders, traditional, religious and political leaders; as well as the Nigeria National Youth Service Corps. UNICEF Nigeria plan to publish case studies bi-annually in future to ensure that we share experience of best practice.
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Case Study – CLTS experience in Guli PU – Plan Sudan
We used to look over our shoulders every now and then like someone avoiding the police” said Batool from Um Ukaz village describing their “journey “to defecate in the open, “now if our latrine collapse a hundred times we will keep rebuilding it because it made a great difference in our life”. How this change did come about? Invited by Plan Sudan, Dr. Kamal Kar who developed a new approach in environmental sanitation visited Sudan in 2009. Dr. Kar introduced his new approach of Community Led Total Sanitation “CLTS” in seven communities where plan has been working for some time and where it was open defecation for all! There were no public or private latrines in all seven villages. Participants of the workshop conducted for the introduction of the new approach, visited all seven villages, discussed the problem and issues related to open defecation with all sectors of the communities and, during the process, identified natural leaders who were eager to adopt and push forward the campaign to eradicate open defecation. “Despite of the difficulties faced the campaign that we were led in the beginning, said Yahya (natural Leader) in advocating for self-reliance and self-help as some neighboring communities received financial and material assistance from other organizations previously and the rains which damaged some latrines before they were protected and roofed, despite of these challenges we didn’t give up but continuing extending the efforts then we learned a lot and we developed our own tools to follow progress and to motivate and convince others, then great progress is evident, where in most of the villages 85% of the families have built their own house latrines while in some villages all families have latrines now. In some cases two families share a latrine, so open defecation has been defeated and eliminated” When asked about the importance of latrines in the households, Ali from Traiter village has this to say,” during the last rainy season we heard about a lot of diarrhea cases in several nearby communities, even in a big town like Kosti, but we did not have a single case”. Some leaders think that villagers pride in their latrines is a little bit excessive! He said “when we take visitor to any house the families usually insist in taking the visitor to see their latrine,” He added laughing,” It is embarrassing “ “This interesting and miracle that amongst the thousands of the peoples including the children which had been affected by watery diarrhea in the area, no single case reported in our health statistic records from the seven villages that adopted the CLTS approach and declaring open defecation free in their areas” said Elsamani, Statistical Section, MoH.
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