Africa’s informal settlements are growing at an astounding rate. For the vast majority of residents on-site sanitation – usually some type of pit latrine – is the only option. Partnerships between water suppliers and solid waste collection sectors have greatly improved services, but could partnerships work for the sanitation sector too?

Delivering an effective sanitation system requires that public health officials, civil and environmental engineers and social anthropologists all work together. A team from Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation (BPD) looked closely at the role of partnerships in this sector in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Durban, South Africa, Maputo, Mozambique, Maseru, Lesotho and Nairobi, Kenya. Their goal was to help sanitation service providers make more informed decisions about working together effectively.

The team learned that successful partnerships for on-site sanitation are scarce. It was difficult to find examples where on-site sanitation was being addressed on a large scale, or where diverse organisations were working together in a coherent and focused manner. There was no evidence that practitioners were not interested in partnerships, so it seems that workable partnerships were just very difficult to establish and maintain. Sanitation seldom delivers quick positive results, partners have other commitments, and there is little practical advice available.

Overall, the research suggests that partnership approaches for on-site sanitation can be useful, but a more sober recognition of the challenges involved is necessary. From the research four important themes emerged, all of which affect the nature of relationships between key partners:

• On-site sanitation really covers three facilities: household latrines, shared ‘compound’ facilities, and communal neighbourhood facilities. People use and view these facilities differently, so partnerships must reflect that.
• Households are stakeholders, but very diverse ones. Owner-occupiers, landlords, and tenants have very different expectations and obligations, as do children, men, and women.
• Urban on-site sanitation is a segmented system. Providing access is one stage, emptying facilities is another, while treating waste is a third.  Effectively linking the three is very difficult.
• Sanitation partnerships are very different to water supply or solid waste collection partnerships. Understanding the differences is vital, as is tailoring partnerships to sanitation’s unique challenges.

The lack of existing sanitation partnerships shows that they are not easy. The complex nature of sanitation means that process, context and a strong analysis of the operating framework are particularly important. Nevertheless, the research shows three ways in which successful partnerships can improve on-site sanitation services:

• Improve the existing relationships between customers and service providers, working through people already close to customers. This can encourage more and better sanitation transactions between them, and an improved understanding of what each party wants.
• Harness these transactions to deliver improved health and environmental protection.  Partnerships need to stress the need for widespread behaviour change, and make use of a range of service providers to reach agreed goals.
• Overcome fragmentation within the system.  Creative partnerships can work with the diversity inherent within on-site sanitation to improve overall services.

Source(s):
‘Sanitation Partnerships: Harnessing their potential for urban on-site sanitation’, BPD Sanitation Series, IDS: Brighton, by David Schaub-Jones, Kathy Eales and Linda Tyers, 2006 Full document.

Funded by: DGIS Netherlands

id21 Research Highlight: 13 April 2007

Further Information:
Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation
2nd floor, 47–49 Durham Street
London SE11 5JD, UK

Tel: +44 (0)207 7934557
Fax: +44 (0)207 5820963
Contact the contributor:  davidsj@bpdws.org

Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation (BPDWS)

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