A 2007 CLTS pilot scheme in the Choma District of Zambia was visibly successful within the space of a few months. Saniation coverage increased from 23% to 88%, with open defecation free (ODF) villages accounting for 75% of all villages.
It was believed that the high levels of success for this CLTS scheme were linked to the great involvement of local leadership figures. Once these respected figures were able to internalise the impacts of open defecation, communities soon followed in behaviour. Similarly to the previous case study, a shock-factor was used by inducing disgust in communities by revealing how their actions of open defecation contaminate their food and water supplies. An additional technique, which may be what made the Choma District study so successful, was organised community visits to the most sanitary and unsanitary areas. This allowed for members of the community to analyse their position on the scale of hygiene and provided a comparison of the 'to-do's' and 'what-not-to-do's'.
The same approach of abolishing open defecation to create ODF communities, whilst encouraging community-built latrines, was used. At the same time, further sanitation strategies were enforced that were not specific to toilet use. Dish racks and refuse pits were helped to be constructed and the understanding of washing hands with soap before and after cooking and eating, and after contact with animals and children was also put forward. Whilst there was a generally fast uptake to this information across the scheme, it was found that in many cases the addition of non-toilet based information removed the spotlight from the seriousness of faecal-oral pathways. Confusing the main point of the behavioural changes being enforced.
Account based on Report for the Government of the Republic of Zambia, 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment