A less expensive toilet: the impact of targeted subsidies on latrine purchases in Cambodia

iDE’s sanitation marketing efforts in Cambodia have resulted in over 250,000 sales of improved pourflush latrines. Despite the overall efficacy of this approach, iDE recognizes that market actors are not necessarily incentivized to reach the poorest segments of the market. iDE and Causal Design utilized a randomized controlled trial, in which poor households in treatment villages were offered partial subsidies, financing and cash-only options, while control-village households were offered only financing or cash-only purchase options, to test which financing mechanism leads to the greatest coverage change among poor households, while having the least distortionary effect on the market. The study finds uptake rates among poor households increased by 14-16 percent compared to the control group, while there was no significant effect on non-poor households. This study provides compelling evidence for the impact, as well as increased cost-effectiveness, of well-targeted subsidies on latrine uptake among lower-income households in a market-based approach

An approach to measurement of the sustainability of sanitation marketing WASH programs

Since 2011, iDE’s sanitation marketing efforts in Cambodia have resulted in over 200,000 sales of improved pour-flush latrines in rural Cambodia through 329 businesses and 473 sales agents. iDE has tried to measure the sustainability of the businesses we engage. In doing so, we have tried to identify the business strategies and market factors driving or constraining profit and sales at scale. The team has also sought to answer whether or not the cost-effectiveness of iDE’s sanitation marketing programs is improving over time as we continually refine our approach and processes. In the first part of this paper, we analyze business data from the sanitation marketing program in Cambodia to identify business strategies that lead to sustainable sanitation businesses. In the second part, we present a model for understanding the cost effectiveness of iDE’s sanitation marketing programs, and identify some key takeaways for future financially sustainable WASH program implementation