Harnessing the power of public-private-partnership (PPP) and sanitation marketing in promoting urban poor sanitation : lessons from GTZ/JICA/CIDI pilot project in Nateete parish informal settlements, Kampala District [Uganda] : paper presented at the East

With about 2.6 billion people without access to improved sanitation facilities in the world and approximately 4 billion cases of diarrhoea each year causing 2.2 million deaths mostly among children under the age of five on the African continent. Diarrhoea is now the biggest killer of children under five, deaths that are preventable through access to sanitation, hygiene education and clean water. Despite the noticeable benefits of improved sanitation, free and subsidized sanitation facilities are often times abandoned or otherwise abused within a short time of being set up as users share no sense of ownership and expect that new free facilities will be provided. The photo presentation focused on how GTZ through RUWASS entered a Public-private partnership (PPP) with CIDI, JICA, Equity Bank and Poly Fibre to produce and distribute sanitation facilities designed for the specific needs of the urban poor. The population of Nateete informal settlements are using the principles of sanitation marketing to promote ownership and stimulate demand for sanitation. The results from this partnership showed that there was a 30% increase in sanitation coverage and a 45% increase in critical hand washing. Also recorded was that 70% of respondents reported reduction in water and sanitation related diseases after the pilot project.  This collaboration reflects that public private partnership coupled with sanitation marketing principles can stimulate urban poor’s demand for sustainable sanitation facilities with minimal or without subsides. [authors abstract]

This three-day workshop aims to identify proven good practices in the sanitation and hygiene sector, as well as drawing lessons from failures to enter into the policy dialogue. It focuses on urban sanitation with an emphasis on learning and innovation in the sector. It was organised by : UNICEF, GTZ, WSSCC, WaterAid and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, and hosted by the Rwandan Ministry of Health.