CLTS Foundation in National Sanitation Conference 2018, Eritrea
CLTS Foundation has been invited by UNICEF from 30th November 2018 to 12th December 2018 to support Eritrea in scaling up for an ODF Nation by 2022 and for facilitating the First Eritrean National Sanitation Conference.
Day 1 (30th November 2018): The CLTS Foundation team met with officials from UNICEF Eritrea including the Country Representative, the Deputy Country Representative and the WASH team members to discuss and develop a strategy for a successful mission at the Unicef office, UN Compound. The primary aim was to establish was to identify the cause for the low access to sanitation across the country and devise a plan to free up these bottlenecks in order to fast-track sanitation work in the near future. As of October 2018, only 907 amounting to 32% of the rural population have stopped practising open defecation. Therefore, there exists a mammoth size task in front of the stakeholders to accelerate the access to sanitation for all to achieve the SDG target.
However, the focus of this mission would be to draw from the good practices and successful outcomes the CLTS approach has demonstrated across the country to convince the stakeholders at the zoba(zonal) and national level to prioritise sanitation.
The meeting was to fine-tune the strategy for the first Eritrean Sanitation Conference to be held on the 11th and 12th of December this year. This will witness participation of a number of ministers, ambassadors from different countries, partners and departmental/ ministerial officials from the different levels to seek commitments from them to support and coordinate for faster, smoother and better quality implementation of CLTS across the country making Eritrea ODF soon.
Left to Right: David Tsetse (WASH Chief, UNICEF Eritrea), Dr. Kamal Kar (Chairman, CLTS Foundation), Dr. Pierre Ngom (Country Representative, UNICEF Eritrea), Megha Sen (Programme Officer, CLTS Foundation), Shaya Asindua (Deputy Country Representative, UNICEF Eritrea), Geoffrey Acaye (CSD Chief, UNICEF Eritrea), Yirgalem Solomon (WASH Specialist, UNICEF Eritrea)
Day 2 (1st of December): The CLTS Foundation team also met with Dr. Zemui Alemu, the Director General of Environmental Health for The State of Eritrea. The meeting focused on identifying the bottlenecks and developing a strategy to bring together all the major stakeholders across the different levels in order to seek commitment to make the nation ODF by 2022. There were certain bottlenecks which were identified including inadequate trained human resources, sanitation resources, funds and quality of CLTS triggering. The consensus was that the Sanitation Conference to be held on 11th and 12th of December should be strategized and designed in such a way that it must try to achieve commitment from all to address these concerns.
Day 3 (3rd of December): The CLTS Foundation team along with members from the UNICEF WASH team had a meeting with Her Excellency Amina Nurhussein, Minister of Health and Dr. Andat Tefatsion, Director General of Public Health of The State of Eritrea. The discussion revolved around the current access to sanitation which stands at 32% and how the country could achieve better results in the coming years. The Minister was convinced of the power of collective local action and stated that the political willingness and enthusiasm from the community could make the country ODF by 2022. On a highly encouraging note, she also agreed with Dr. Kamal Kar, the Chairman of CLTS Foundation that the date of achievement for an ODF Nation could be advanced to 2020, given the right kind of enabling environment and motivation. She believes that the focus of all the ministries and stakeholders should move beyond the sub-national level to free up the blockages and the aim to become the first African country to achieve ODF National status.
Left to right: Megha Sen (Programme Officer, CLTS Foundation), Yirgalem Solomon (WASH Specialist, UNICEF Eritrea), H.E. Amina Nurhussein (Minister of Health), Dr. Kamal Kar (Chairman, CLTS Foundation), Mr. David Tsetse (WASH Chief, UNICEF Eritrea), Dr Andat Tefatsion (Director General of Public Health)
Day 4 (4th of December): Dr. Kamal Kar and Ms. Megha Sen of the CLTS Foundation Team along with Yirgalem Solomon, Wash Specialist (UNICEF) met with Berhane Habtemariam, the Minister of Finance to seek his presence at the First National Sanitation Conference in Eritrea (Eri-San I) which is to be held on 11th and 12th of December. After an intense discussion on the urgent need for a common platform with the involvement of all institutional actors across all departments and levels to fast track access to sanitation in the country, the Minister agreed that it is crucial to hav e a healthy population to build capacity. He graciously accepted the invitation to the conference and agreed to show his support towards the national movement against open defecation.
Badaraoh village in Maekel Zoba
Day 5 (5th of December): Dr. Kamal Kar and Ms. Megha Sen met with Dr. Zemui and Mr. Abraham Milash Head of Sanitation and Health Unit under the Ministry of Health in order to prepare for the upcoming Field visit to the different Zobas as well as the Sanitation Conference. The CLTS Foundation team also visited Badaraoh village in the Maekel Zoba (89 out of 94 villages are ODF) to see the villages which have embraced and consistently maintained the ODF status for a long time. It was also interesting to note that these community members had not just refrained from open defecation but had also invested their resources to move along the sanitation ladder to better sanitation facilities including hand-washing systems. The women of this community spoke out about the need for better sanitation and how their health, dignity, privacy, security and environment had significantly improved since they stopped the practice of open defecation. a
Day 6 (6th of December): Dr. Kamal Kar and Ms. Megha Sen along with Mr. Abraham Milash Head of Sanitation and Health Unit under the Ministry of Health and other members visited Anseba Zoba to understand the status and quality of CLTS implementation in these areas. Anseba Zoba has comparatively performed better and 199 out of the total 295 villages have been declared ODF. The team visited Fanna village in Haggaz sub-zoba, Anseba Zoba. This village had successfully maintained its ODF status for almost a decade and showcased massive strength through collective action and social solidarity mechanisms. The women community members of the village said, ‘We do not have to go very far in this heat anymore and we can use the toilet next to our house which gives us more privacy and security and we have witnessed its health benefits, as well.’ The community members also showed the visiting team a toilet they had constructed for an 84-year-old man who was unable to do it himself due to physical, financial and familial constraints. When asked about the inspiration to keep their village ODF, the community members said that they have seen the health gains and want to continue them through clean and healthy practices and surroundings. The community members were requested to join the upcoming National Sanitation Conference and present their sanitation story to the high officials and ministers.
Picture above: Interactive session with community members from Fanna Village, Haggaz sub-zoba, Anseba Zoba
Day 7 (7th of December): The visiting team continued their travel to Gash Barka Zoba to understand the reasons for the inefficient implementation and monitoring in this particular area. The Environmental Health Officers and the Medical Officers of the Zoba explained that one of the reasons for heavy slippage to OD rate was the presence of nomadic communities and the unavailability of material. Following this, the team met with General Tekhle, an Army official who has become a crusader against the practice of OD in the area and mobilized his army officers to make the Zoba ODF. He proudly said that the Zoba communities are capable of changing and sustaining their sanitation practices even before the official date of declaration. He also said that Gash Barka will set an example for other Zoba Army Generals to mobilize their troops in the fight against OD. The team proceeded to meet the Zoba Governor who said that though it is an ambitious task to make the Zoba ODF in a short span, keeping in mind the huge number of villages (937 Total and 211 ODF), all the efforts will be undertaken to make this a reality.
Day 8 and Day 9 (11th and 12th December): The two-day National Sanitation Conference on 11th and 12th December was attended by eleven Ministers and more than two hundred officials, professionals and six Governors of all the Regions of Eritrea. The outcome of the conference seems quite promising in terms of institutional and individual commitments. Mr. Ian Richards, British Ambassador in Eritrea, Ms. Amina Nurhussien, Minister of Health and many other dignitaries encouraged and inspired the audience to do everything to fast track Eritrea’s journey towards achieving Open Defecation Free National status.
Picture above: National Sanitation Conference Day 1, Eritrea
General Takle, who has done commendable work in spreading CLTS and transforming hundreds of villages into ODF, inspired other Military Generals to do the same. The Ministry of Health and UNICEF did a marvellous job in organising the national sanitation conference which was a great success and certainly lifted up the spirit of everyone who participated. Community presentation by members from Fanna Village in Haggaz sub-zoba, Anseba Zoba, was a crucial part of the second day of the conference and it focus on their sanitation story including where they had started from, where they are currently and their aspirations to ascend on the sanitation ladder, given the right kind of enabling support.
Community Members presenting their sanitation story
Speech by Mr. Ian Richards, the British Ambassador to Eritrea
The Conference participants witnessed an invigorating speech by Mr. Ian Richards, the British Ambassador to Eritrea. He congratulated the Government and all the partners for convening this important event. He stated his belief that despite the myriad challenges, efforts by all stakeholder including DFID (UK Government Aid agency) across each level will culminate into an ODF Eritrea. He concluded his speech saying that everyone knows that ODF works in the country and that Eritrea has the potential to become the first ODF nation before anyone by taking initiatives forward after this 2-day conference.
Links to media coverage of the National Sanitation Conference, Eritrea 2018 below:-
Megha Sen is a Programme Officer at CLTS Foundation and has worked in areas of strategic development, capacity building, and knowledge generation, technical and process support for CLTS implementation. She has extensive experience of managing the Foundation’s projects, providing technical support and developing knowledge products for projects in a number of countries in Africa and Asia including India, Cambodia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Eritrea. She is a post graduate in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Hyderabad).
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