Key recommendations from the workshop include, amongst others, the need to improve efforts to identify the ‘last mile’ and develop more inclusive systems and processes, along with alignment of indicators across the regions.
The Joint Monitoring Programme estimated that in 2015 28.1 per cent of the rural population of East and Southern Africa practised open defecation (OD) while 44 per cent were reliant on unimproved sanitation facilities. Furthermore, 64 per cent of rural households had no handwashing facility with an additional 23 per cent having a limited facility (one without water or soap). Good progress is being made through Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and other rural sanitation approaches; however the achievement of universal safely managed sanitation in the region by 2030 will require increased scale and pace.
The CLTS Knowledge Hub, based at the Institute of Development Studies, convened a regional workshop in Arusha, Tanzania, 16-20 April 2018 with support from SNV Tanzania. The event brought together those engaged in rural WASH programming from eight countries across the region (Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) alongside experts working at regional and global levels. Over the course of five days participants shared experiences, innovations, challenges and learning, and mapped gaps in knowledge with the aim of improving capacity and future learning, and building consensus on the way forward. SNV Tanzania also facilitated a field visit to its Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All (SSH4A) project areas in Babati and Karatu districts.
This learning brief presents the common challenges and barriers to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 that the workshop participants identified across the region. It summarises discussions held across the week, highlights promising practices and considers priority actions moving forward.
