Micro-insurance: a proposed practical solution to mitigate hand-pump maintenance challenges in Malawi

As part of the grant offer, stakeholder end-users in low- income or ultra- poverty regions are encouraged to contribute 5% of the total hand-pump asset cost in a form of labour or household financing, as set by IMF/ World Bank who is the main project investor. This model also outlines that stakeholder end-users take up the maintenance role when the project sponsors leave the scene, yet there are challenges to successfully maintain the assets. This study attempts to identify end-users efforts and challenges in hand-pump project maintenance and propose a strategy to overcome the gap. Data collection was done using 12 Convergence Interviews, 36 Individual Case Interviews and two sets of Focus Groups in operational as well as non-operational hand-pumps in rural Malawi. Results show that end-users financing is inadequate to cover maintenance of a major hand-pump breakdown and/or overhaul. To address the gap, a risk management plan in form of micro insurance maintenance subsidy is proposed as part of the project design

Transgender inclusive sanitation - insights from South Asia

This paper provides insights from initiatives to include transgender people in sanitation programming in South Asia. Three case studies of recent actions to make sanitation inclusive for transgender people (in India and Nepal) are presented, accompanied by reflections and recommendations to guide future practice. Practitioners are recommended to: engage with transgender people as partners at all stages of an initiative; recognise that the language of gender identity is not fixed, varying across cultures and between generations; and acknowledge that transgender people are not a single homogenous group but rather have diverse identities, histories and priorities. The case studies aim to raise awareness of the diversity of transgender identities, exploring the needs and aspirations of transgender women, transgender men, and third gender people