Resources

Learning From and Preventing Failure in WASH

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Authors: 
Dani Barrington
Esther Shaylor and Becky Sindall
2023

Abstract

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) failures continue to be discussed mostly off the record, with professionals the world over repeating one another’s mistakes.

Failure is difficult to talk about, but WASH failures have negative impacts – money is wasted and sometimes people are harmed. We need to acknowledge that not everything we try will succeed, but that if we learn from one another, we can continuously improve our work. Since 2018, we have attempted to foster this change through the ‘WASH Failures Movement’.

This issue of 'Frontiers of Sanitation' is a compilation of what we’ve learned about why WASH failures happen, how we can address them, and how we can facilitate a culture of sharing and learning from failure in the WASH sector.

Immersive Research for Safer Sanitation in Bihar and Maharashtra, India

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Authors: 
Sneha
S. and Sen
S.
2023

Abstract

In 2022, FINISH Mondial and the Sanitation Learning Hub conducted a participatory and immersive research study to understand ground realities and lived experiences of sanitation and hygiene access in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra and Darbhanga district, Bihar in India.

The main objectives for the immersion were:

  • to identify challenges and barriers towards access to and use of sanitation and hygiene services within challenging contexts,
  • to capture community voices
  • to find contextually rooted ways to identify enablers towards safe and equitable access to and use of sanitation and hygiene services in these areas; and
  • to inform FINISH programme design and support the development of human-centric strategies for improving access to sanitation hygiene services for marginalised and left-out communities, while strengthening gender equality and social inclusion (GESI).

Key lessons learnt from the study included:

  • universal access to and use of toilets has not yet been achieved, and people affected by poverty and marginalisation remain excluded;
  • existing toilets need retrofitting and maintenance to become usable;
  • we need to consider context specific adaptations for programming for tough physical conditions such as flooding and drought;
  • caste-based inequality is prevalent with major implications for access to sanitation and hygiene services;
  • and behaviour change programming remains relevant for these contexts.

A Participatory Assessment for Climate-Induced WASH Vulnerabilities in Bangladesh

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Authors: 
Nuzhat
S.
Iyer
R.
Qader
A.I.A and Islam
S.M.A.
2023

Abstract

This Learning Brief presents work undertaken by WaterAid Bangladesh and Rupantar in collaboration with the Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH), at the Institute of Development Studies, and the University of Technology Sydney – Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS-ISF).

A sanitation-focused climate lens was added to existing ward vulnerability assessment tools due to the increasing WASH-related climate impacts in the study site. The aim was to understand climate induced impacts on WASH and feed this into programmatic guidance through the preparation of locally-led comprehensive ward development plans.

This Learning Brief is intended to provide inspiration to practitioners and WASH experts on how to adapt existing vulnerability assessment tools to integrate climate considerations. This study engaged several stakeholders including climate vulnerable populations, development practitioners, researchers, and local government across Krishnanagar Union under Sathkhira subdistrict, to create evidence-based approaches to address climate induced WASH vulnerabilities in coastal Southwest Bangladesh.

This research sought to answer the following questions:

  • What is the current status of WASH facilities in nine wards across in rural southwest Bangladesh?
  • How are climatic conditions impacting water, sanitation and hygiene practices?
  • What actions can be undertaken by various stakeholders to address climate induced WASH problems?

Adapting Menstrual Health Interventions for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Emergencies

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Authors: 
Wilbur
J. and Morrison
C.
2023

Abstract

Menstrual health is a public health issue, yet many women and girls in low- and middle-income countries still need to achieve it. People with disabilities are particularly disadvantaged and often excluded from interventions to improve menstrual health
in development and humanitarian contexts.

To start addressing this gap, the Bishesta campaign – a menstrual health intervention for people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers was designed and delivered in Nepal’s development setting. The campaign was adapted for Vanuatu’s humanitarian emergencies and is called the Veivanua campaign.

This Frontiers of Sanitation issue presents the study findings and explains the steps followed throughout these two processes. It includes recommendations to support others to adapt the campaigns for different settings.

Local Government Leadership in Sanitation and Hygiene: Experiences and Learnings from West Africa

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Authors: 
Gian Melloni
2022

Abstract

Between July and October 2021, the Sanitation Learning Hub worked with government representatives and development partners to develop, share, and cross-analyse case studies looking at local system and government strengthening in four local government areas across West Africa: Benin (N’Dali commune), Ghana (Yendi municipal district), Guinea (Molota commune), and Nigeria (Logo LGA).

The initiative focused on examples of local leadership in sanitation and hygiene (S&H), with case studies developed in collaboration with development partners (Helvetas in Benin, UNICEF in Ghana and Guinea, United Purpose in Nigeria) and the local governments they partner with.

The goal was to cross-analyse examples of local government leadership in S&H, looking at what led to the prioritisation of S&H, and identifying commonalities and transferable knowledge through a participatory cross-learning process. The case studies identified positive change occurred in local government leadership in S&H, and analysed the contributions to change, via document review, key informant interviews and focus group discussions.

This learning brief shares the learnings and recommendations that emerged from the case studies and through the three participatory workshops that followed.

A French translation is also available: Le leadership des autorités locales en matière d’assainissement et d’hygiène : expériences et apprentissage de l’Afrique de l’Ouest

A Portuguese translation is also available: A liderança governamental local em saneamento e higiene: experiências e aprendizagens da África Ocidental

Watch the webinar on the findings here: https://youtu.be/87z6ZrQMRc0

 

 

 

A Photovoice Study on WASH and Nutrition in Afar, Ethiopia

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Authors: 
Jocelyn Kelln
Line Richter and Christine Fostvedt-Mills
2022

Abstract

The Afar people of Northern Ethiopia live in what can be considered the very definition of ‘challenging contexts.’ Largely nomadic pastoralists, they navigate a harsh and unforgiving landscape, often having to travel great distances for water. They have been described as living on the frontline of climate change. The Covid-19 pandemic and emerging peace and security issues in Ethiopia have only compounded challenges around poverty, nutrition and sanitation as markets are disrupted and entire communities are displaced.

It can still be incredibly challenging to ensure that the most marginalised members of a community are included and actively engaged in the process . In the case of Afar, this encompasses women, those with little to no formal schooling and those with very low levels of literacy. With this learning paper the authors want to share their experiences of using a methodology designed to include the voices of those most marginalised – in particular, women’s voices – in a nutrition and WASH participatory research project in Northern Ethiopia.

Fostvedt-Mills Consulting (FMC) was contracted by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) as part of their Improved Food security through Transitional Aid for Resilience Project (IFTAR), which aimed to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable groups and the nutritional and hygiene behaviours of caregivers. They were asked to investigate the attitudes and practises of target communities in Afar relating to nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene and then to design a subsequent intervention that was contextually relevant to the communities.

For the study, FMC sought to answer the questions:

  1. What are the social and gender-based factors determining the nutrition and WASH practices of the communities?
  2. How are those factors affecting the nutrition and WASH practices of the communities?

In designing the approach, FMC wanted to ensure that they carried out their research with the communities, rather than on the communities, in a way that would build trust and create a shared understanding of the future intervention and generate interest and a sense of ownership in its potential outcomes.

The full study carried out by FMC included a desk review as well as primary quantitative and qualitative data collection. In this learning paper they share the findings from the qualitative research. Specifically, FMC examine how the use of photovoice and Community Action Planning methods worked to amplify the voices of women and ultimately engage a more diverse group of community members in the research process. They will share our most important findings and discuss some of the advantages and challenges of using these methods in Afar, as well as the potential for application of these research methods in other challenging contexts.

Engaging Men and Boys for Gender-Transformative WASH

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Authors: 
Sue Cavill
Chelsea Huggett and Joanna Mott
2022

Abstract

Engaging men and boys is an exciting development in the WASH space; for too long our efforts to transform gender inequality focused too narrowly on women and girls.

Limiting ourselves to half the possible number of allies, partners for change, innovators, and leaders to address this issue held back progress, and also placed the ‘burden for change’ squarely on women’s shoulders

This issue of Frontiers of Sanitation explores the extent to which engaging men and boys in WASH processes is leading to transformative change in gender roles, attitudes, and sustainable change in reducing gender inequalities across households, communities, organisations, and policy.

This document is an update to Frontiers Part 1 produced in 2018. In Part 1, the differing roles of men and boys were reviewed in terms of objects to change (i.e. to change sanitation or hygiene behaviours), agents of change (in promoting improved practices), and partners for change in gender-transformative WASH processes.

This update reviews progress and provides practical examples of the opportunities and challenges with this endeavour. It also includes recommendations for those thinking about why and how to include engaging men and boys as part of their WASH programmes.

This publication is also available in French and Portuguese:

Emerging Practice for the Engagement of Men and Boys in WASH

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Authors: 
Godfrey Bongomin et al.
2022

Abstract

This document accompanies Frontiers of Sanitation: Engaging men for gender transformative WASH, Part 2, which explores the extent to which engaging men and boys in WASH processes is leading to transformative change in gender roles, attitudes, and sustainable change in reducing gender inequalities across households, communities, organisations, and policy.

Practical examples are presented here from:

  • Timor-Leste
  • Papua New Guinea (PNG)
  • Solomon Islands
  • Bangladesh
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Vanuatu
  • Nepal

Each of these examples, all of which are from projects funded by the Australian Government’s Water for Women Fund, describe interventions that employed different gender-transformative approaches to engage with and reach men and boys. They also describe the projects’ successes and challenges.

This publication is also available in French and Portuguese:

Using Participatory Action Research Methodologies for Engaging and Researching with Religious Minorities in Contexts of Intersecting Inequalities

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Authors: 
Jo Howard
Sowmyaa Bharadwaj and Pradeep Narayanan
2021

Abstract

While there is growing scholarship on the intersectional nature of people’s experience of marginalisation, analyses tend to ignore religion-based inequalities. A lack of Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) undermines people’s possibilities of accessing services and rights and enjoying wellbeing.
 
In this paper, the authors discuss how religion and faith-based inequalities intersect with other horizontal and vertical inequalities, to create further exclusions within as well as between groups. They offer our experience of using participatory action research (PAR) methodologies to enable insights into lived experiences of intersecting inequalities. In particular, they reflect on intersecting inequalities in the context of India, and share some experiences of facilitating PAR processes with marginalised groups, such as Denotified Tribes (DNT).
 
The authors introduce a FoRB lens to understand how DNT communities in India experience marginalisation and oppression. The examples discussed here focus on the intersection of religious belief with caste, tribal, gender and other socially constructed identities, as well as poverty. Through taking a PAR approach to working with these communities, they show how PAR can offer space for reflection, analysis, and sometimes action with relation to religion-based and other inequalities. They share some lessons that are useful for research, policy and practice, which they have learned about methods for working with vulnerable groups, about how religion-based inequalities intersect with others, and the assumptions and blind spots that can perpetuate these inequalities.
 
 

Rural Sanitation and Climate Change: Putting Ideas into Practice

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Authors: 
Jeremy Kohlitz and Ruhil Iyer
2021

Abstract

Sharing of experiences and thoughts on addressing climate change impacts on sanitation at a local level are critical to evolving the sanitation sector.

Please note, there is a French translation and a Portuguese translation available.

SDG 6.2 calls for sustainable sanitation for all before 2030. Yet over 2 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation facilities. Ensuring good sanitation and hygiene practices for everybody means ending open defecation, tackling existing challenges with access and use, and ensuring all sanitation facilities are safely managed.

Climate change is an added complexity in an already challenging landscape – it exacerbates these challenges and has cascading effects on health and livelihoods. Climate change impacts disproportionately affect already disadvantaged and marginalised groups, jeopardising efforts to Leave No One Behind in the drive for sanitation and hygiene for all. There is a real risk that progress made in improving rural sanitation access and coverage will slow, or even reverse.

The global sanitation sector has taken initial steps to incorporate responses to climate change into rural sanitation programming and services. However, much of the discussion has focused on technological improvements.

There is limited actionable guidance on how the rural sanitation and hygiene sector can make systemic changes through planning and implementing project delivery, enabling demand, changing behaviour, addressing social norms, monitoring and evaluation, and more at the local level. Furthermore, the voices of vulnerable people, households, and communities who are at the forefront of experiencing climate change impacts on sanitation are largely absent in existing discussions.

This publication aims to address these gaps in rural sanitation and hygiene thinking through:

  • unpacking the reasons behind the limited progress towards addressing climate change in the sanitation and hygiene sector;
  • exploring climate impacts on rural sanitation and hygiene practices;
  • placing people, households, and communities at the centre of programming using participatory methods for learning; and
  • providing actionable ideas to integrate climate thinking and learning into rural sanitation and hygiene programming at the household and community level.

Rural sanitation practitioners already consider many types of risk in the design and implementation of programmes. This publication supports rural practitioners in civil society and government to add a climate lens to existing programmes. It provides the sector with a menu of options and ideas from a climate change perspective. It is not a prescriptive list or a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

Practitioners can draw on various ideas and parts of this guidance and modify them to suit specific programmatic and regional contexts. The quotes included are from interviews with sanitation and hygiene practitioners. They describe their experience with programming in contexts increasingly challenged by climate related concerns.

The Sanitation Learning Hub's Frontiers of Sanitation series provides practical, evidence-based guidance and recommendations on essential emerging issues and approaches to programming and learning.

Strengthening Sub-National Systems for Area-Wide Sanitation and Hygiene

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Authors: 
Mimi Coultas
2021

Abstract

Following widespread decentralisation reforms, including across Africa, responsibility for sanitation and hygiene (S&H) often sits with sub-national governments.

For some time, local government leadership has been recognised as key to ensuring sustainability and scale and it is an important component of the emerging use of systems strengthening approaches in the S&H sector.

From late 2020 to early 2021, the Sanitation Learning Hub collaborated with local government actors and development partners from three sub-national areas to explore ways of increasing local government leadership and prioritisation of sanitation and hygiene (S&H) to drive progress towards area-wide S&H. It is hoped that this work will provide practical experiences to contribute to this thinking.

Case studies were developed to capture local government and development partners’ experiences supporting sub-national governments increase their leadership and prioritisation of S&H in Siaya County (Kenya, with UNICEF), Nyamagabe District (Rwanda, with WaterAid) and Moyo District (Uganda, with WSSCC), all of which have seen progress in recent years.

The cases were then explored through three online workshops with staff from the local governments, central government ministries and development partners involved to review experiences and identify levers and blockages to change. This document presents key findings from this process.

This is part of the Sanitation Learning Hub's Learning Brief series.

A French translation is also available on the Sanitation Learning Hub website. 

Local Government Leadership for Sanitation and Hygiene in West Africa

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Authors: 
Issa Wone
2021

Abstract

The sanitation and hygiene (S&H) situation in most of West Africa is considered to be a cause for concern, despite the efforts and the large campaign towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2.

This rapid desk-based study focused on local governments, given their increasing importance in ensuring improved access to Sanitation & Hygiene (S&H) in West Africa, and across the world.

It was conducted to identify local governments that could be considered champions in the West African region and that demonstrated strong leadership in S&H; to understand why they have prioritised S&H, the support they received, the stakeholders, the management of inequalities, and the gaps in sub-national governments’ efforts regarding S&H prioritisation.

This is part of the Sanitation Learning Hub’s Learning Brief series.

This publication is also available in French.

Sanitation Programmes Throughout and Beyond the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Authors: 
Gian Melloni
2021

Abstract

In discussions on sanitation and Covid-19, the continuity of long-term sanitation goals throughout and beyond the pandemic is often missing. To respond to this gap, the Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH) and UNICEF hosted a webinar series to share knowledge and experience on ways programmes have changed and adapted.

The two webinars presented examples of initiatives which have continued to pursue long-term sanitation objectives during the pandemic.  Successes and setbacks are highlighted by the panellists, along with essential adaptations made to continue and improve efforts.

During the webinars space was also made to reflect on possible future impacts of Covid-19 on sanitation planning, implementation and monitoring.

This 6-page webinar report shares key learning and recommendations from the two webinars.

Vulnerability and Poverty During Covid-19: Religious Minorities in India

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Authors: 
Jo Howard
2021

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had direct and indirect effects on religiously marginalised groups, exacerbating existing inequities and undermining the ambitions of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reach (and include) those ‘furthest behind’. Religious inequalities intersect with other inequalities to compound vulnerabilities, particularly the convergence of low socioeconomic status, gender inequality, and location-specific discrimination and insecurity, to shape how people are experiencing the pandemic.

This policy briefing, written by Dr Joanna Howard (IDS) and a co-author (who must remain anonymous for reasons of personal security), draws on research with religious minorities living in urban slums in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states in India. Findings show that religiously motivated discrimination reduced their access to employment and statutory services during the pandemic. Harassment and violence experienced by Muslims worsened; and loss of livelihoods, distress, and despair were also acutely experienced by dalit Hindus. Government response and protection towards lower caste and religious minorities has been insufficient.

Vulnerability and Poverty During Covid-19: Religious Minorities in Nigeria

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Authors: 
Jo Howard
Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam
Plangsat Bitrus and Philip Hayab
2021

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had direct and indirect effects on religiously marginalised groups, exacerbating existing inequities and undermining ambitions for those ‘furthest behind’ to be reached and supported through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The intersection of religious identity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, gender, and age compound vulnerability to violence and its impacts.
 
This policy briefing, written by Dr Joanna Howard, Professor Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam, Dr Plangsat Bitrus Dayil, and Dr Philip Hayab, draws on research into the experiences of the pandemic by religious minorities living in Kaduna and Plateau states in Nigeria and finds that the pandemic deepened pre-existing ethno-religious fault lines. Exacerbated by ongoing insecurity, it contributed to increased poverty, with women particularly affected, and worsening mental health, with people experiencing fear, frustration, and depression. There are also long-term consequences for development; for example, on children’s education.
 
 

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