Pro-poor support mechanisms to accelerate access to improved sanitation for all in rural Bhutan

In the remote area of Lhuentse in Eastern Bhutan, lack of access to improved sanitation and a high incidence of poverty continue to persist. SNV Bhutan, together with the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Programme of the Ministry of Health, collaboratively engage in qualitative research to identify support mechanisms to assist people living in poverty to meet their aspirations for improved hygiene and sanitation. This paper highlights an approach that employs a research methodology based on inclusion and participation, which allows communities to define their own access barriers and suggest possible solutions for improved sanitation. This community reflection results in raised awareness of the collective responsibility for sanitation, promotes the mobilisation of local leaders to source materials and labour for construction, and encourages transparency at a local level by enabling open discussion. [authors abstract]

This case study is one of sixteen from the Towards Inclusive WASH series, supported by AusAID’s Innovations Fund.