The Government of the Netherlands and UNICEF collaborated on this mid-term impact assessment of the One Million Initiative--a program that intends to bring sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for one million people in rural Mozambique by 2013. The approach is participatory, with user communities and schools taking leadership, supported by the government, NGOs, and the private sectors. An important component evaluated here is the community approach for total sanitation (CATS), which merges a community-led total sanitation approach with education components. Though it is only a mid-term evaluation, the paper includes an assessment of program sustainability, arguing that it is useful to identify factors that may influence sustainability as early as possible.
- Kind of study: surveys, water quality tests, field observations, interviews
- Sample size: 80 villages and schools, 20 households within each communitiy
- Timing of study: August-November, 2010
- Households in locations that got an improved water source from the One Million Initiative were 32 percentage points more likely to use safe water; households receiving a CATS intervention were 16 percentage points more likely to do so. The number of improved water sources per person, however, was still well below the target.
- An increase in one kilometer of a household's distance to an improved water source was found to reduce the probability of using it by 18.3 percentage points. No other factors were significant barriers to using improved water sources--not even user charges.
- In 2010, 19% of samples from improved water sources were contaminated by coliform bacteria. Microbiological contamination affected as much as 33% of samples taken at points of use in villages with improved sources.
- CATS led to a 13.6 percentage point increase in ownership of private latrines. This is a statistically strong and robust result, which is particularly notable in light of generally weak findings on the effects of many sanitation and hygiene awareness programs.
- CATS was responsible for a 3 percentage point decline in water related diseases.
- The interventions did not cause an increase in school enrollment.
- Sustaining the benefits of the programs would require increased government and NGO capacity, as well as institutional accountability mechanisms and more deeply rooted knowledge, skills, and procedures in communities. Unattractive market conditions make it difficult for the private sector to provide repair services.
WHAT TO READ NEXT
Published By
Copyright
- Copyright 2011 UNICEF - Government of the Netherlands Partnership for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Document Type
Language
Geography
Linked Data show/hide