Recent performance of a national-scale rural sanitation programme in Ghana

This paper documents recent successes and challenges in a national scale rural sanitation programme implemented by the Environmental Health and Sanitation Department (EHSD) – Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and UNICEF in Ghana. It highlights recent successes and challenges in programming, with special attention paid to the district-level enabling environment factors that support and hinder successful implementation. The programme began in 2012/13 and was rolled out in five of Ghana’s ten regions. Disappointing initial results led to substantial adjustments in programme approach followed by a rapid acceleration in results. Qualitative research was conducted in a mixture of high, medium, and low performing districts to identify the enabling environment and factors that have supported and hindered progress. The paper concludes by presenting a summary of the key differentiating factors that explain some of the difference in performance

Faecal sludge in Accra, Ghana: problems of urban provision

Urban on-site sanitation services present challenges for emptying, transporting, disposing and treating faecal waste. Transfer stations can be used by household-level emptiers to safely dispose of faecal sludge, but they rarely exist. Accra‟s use of transfer stations has provided an opportunity to research their functioning, as part of broader faecal sludge management arrangements. The paper discusses the benefits offered by use of transfer stations, as well as reasons currently limiting their operation. While costs associated with operating and emptying these stations are passed to householders, an illegal sector thrives offering lower cost emptying services, typically with disposal of faecal sludge directly into the environment. At present, bucket latrines offer sanitation services to low-income households unable to afford higher service levels, such as septic tanks. The local government aims to phase-out all bucket latrines by 2010, but affordable alternatives have not been found. Where limited access to land inhibits investment in permanent facilities, families may abandon household sanitation altogether. The paper concludes that correct use of transfer stations can provide improvements for existing faecal sludge management and reduce indiscriminate dumping. They must be made available to all workers, through effective public-private arrangements for ownership and operation

The evolution of rural sanitation approaches in Ghana

Over the MDG period Ghana made little progress on rural sanitation. Between 2000 and 2015 the proportion of the rural population openly defecating only fell slightly from 32% to 31%; in the context of Ghana’s rapid population growth this means there was a large rise in the number of people openly defecating across the period. This paper summaries the current approaches taken in the Rural Sanitation Sub-sector in Ghana, and the evaluation of these approaches over time. The results are based on a series of interviews with key sector actors. The review highlights the modification of approaches over time in response to challenges and concludes by presenting some of the key remaining challenges facing the sector

Faecal sludge management in Accra, Ghana: strengthening links in the chain

Achieving a fully operational Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) chain requires well managed and sustainable services in all aspects of the collection (emptying), transport (haulage), disposal and treatment of faecal sludge. A fully operational FSM chain offers one type of sustainable sanitation system, particularly for urban populations in low and middle-income countries. Failure to ensure all links in the chain are strong and working effectively results in untreated faecal sludge contaminating the environment, with serious implications for human health and environmental degradation. Research in Accra, Ghana has identified important constraints to achieving an efficient and fully functioning FSM chain, with consequences for both people and the environment. Opportunities to improve the institutional and operating environment are identified, particularly affecting engagement between the public and private sector and civil society. Improved stakeholder engagement, together with better regulation, management and access to facilities, enhances services in a way that bring wider benefits to all

Delivering sustainable water supply in fragile and conflict affected states: experiences from Syria

GOAL has been carrying out Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programming in Syria since 2013. This project is delivering clean water to over 450,000 people by utilising pre-existing water networks that had fallen into disrepair and lacked regular electricity supply for operation. This is delivered by pre-existing Water Unit structures that operate in a similar fashion to a typical water utility. The programme has completed necessary rehabilitation works and now focuses on how cost recovery mechanisms can be established to ensure the longer term sustainability and enable funding to move from O&M to further rehabilitation works. This paper shares a background on rehabilitation works to date, but focuses predominantly on recent cost recovery consultancy work from IMC Worldwide. Key lessons revolve around the ability to complete such complex work under remote work arrangements, developing suitable tariffs with uncertain information and how to best develop customer complaints mechanisms

Sanitation marketing in Kenema, Sierra Leone: challenges to scale-up and opportunities for success

A GOAL Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) project that began in 2008 recorded great success but later an ODF slippage rate close to 30% was witnessed. Subsequent assessments have found this to be caused by dissatisfaction with the quality of latrines built and a lack of access to markets for improved sanitation hardware. As a result GOAL initiated a sanitation marketing project in 2013 that aimed to improve the access to this market. Initial work focused on assessment of demand and supply at a local level, and some assessment of the institutional environment to assess the projects likely challenges. Demand was found to be high, particularly for aspirational products, but a lack of affordability and remoteness to target communities increasing prices were likely to become key challenges. Following 12 months of formative work, including product development and branding, sales commenced with the sale of 394 products in 3 months