Supporting water sanitationand hygiene services for life

Round table discussion on urban sanitation and UCLTS

IRC, 1 July 2015

Towards systemic change in urban sanitation

A complex world with many challenges

Lack of institutional clarity

Limited capacities of public officials and other sector actors

Limited public financing with increased inequality as a result (e.g. networked vs. onsite systems, rich vs. poor)

Weak policy and regulatory framework and lack of enforcement of norms and standards

Inadequate containment by onsite systems resulting in toilets discharging in drains or open water bodies

Lack of adequately services to safely remove, transport, treat and dispose or reuse human waste resulting in discriminate dumping of human waste

Introduction | current situation

The real situation is often very different from the perceived situation

Examples of two recent field trips

Hai Phong City in Vietnam

Example of a visit to Hai Phong city in Vietnam 96% of households in Hai Phong reportedly have some

sort of onsite septic or holding tank However, some 70% of Hai Phong’s wastewater is

collected in a sewer system and then discharged untreated in a river

Of the faecal sludge contained onsite only a portion is collected and transferred to a World Bank financed faecal sludge treatment plant

Conclusions May be only some 20% is collected and

treated

The system works but is seriously inadequate

Thimphu City in Bhutan

Example of a visit to Thimphu in Bhutan

Crude shit flow diagram of Thimphu municipality

Introduction

Lots of talking about “whole system change” and “whole system approach”…but…

What is it all about?

What are the elements or components that make up the “whole system”?

Systemic change “change that encompasses all parts of a system, taking into account the interrelationships and interdependencies among those parts”

versus

Piecemeal change “changing one or several parts of a system”

Core concepts

Systemic change means that we need to Improve (sanitation) conditions in an entire

geographic or administrative area (e.g. municipality)

Address all the relevant (weak) parts by considering the whole range of issues

Involve and work with all the stakeholders Be consciously systematic

Core concepts

Change processTowards systemic change in urban sanitation (2014) …providing clarity on the change process

First things first!

Following IRC’s process of change logic, any urban sanitation development programme will have to start with

Phase 1: Initiating the change

How to get started

This crucial first phase will include four interconnected elements:

1) Managing partnerships and building trust;

2) Carrying out a comprehensive situational assessment;

3) Consensus building around a shared vision; and

4) Developing a comprehensive city-level sanitation strategy and plan

How to get started

Whole system Focus on “everything”; all important elements

How to get started

Example of a possible urban sanitation scorecard

Rapid assessment tool with the underlying principle:

What you assess is what you address!

Link with ULCTS

How does it fit together?

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Supporting water sanitationand hygiene services for life