Concern makes sanitation breakthrough in Marsabit county

Concern Worldwide, working with the SWIFT Consortium, reports stunning progress in improving sanitation in one of the poorest regions of Kenya.

In just six months, the number of households with a latrine in Marsabit county appears to have increased by almost 40%.  What’s more, many of the new latrines have been built spontaneously – Concern has not directly initiated their construction.  Instead, it seems that local people have been inspired to take matters into their own hands, by witnessing the impact of Concern-led latrine construction in neighbouring communities.

Marsabit county is a rural district in the north of Kenya where the main livelihood is livestock rearing.  Nomadism is practised by at least 30% of the population.  Concern estimates that 64% of people in the county defecate in the open, with women, girls and nomads particularly unlikely to have access to sanitation.

Concern initially focused on 21 communities in Marsabit county, triggering the construction of low cost latrines with locally available materials.  The emphasis was on building simple latrines, suited to each household’s budget and circumstances.  For example, some latrine superstructures were made from iron sheets, whilst others were constructed from sticks and clothing material or even mud.

In the 21 communities that Concern focused on, the Community Led Total Sanitation triggering technique was used, though changing behaviour was not straightforward.  Winfred Mueni, Concern Worldwide’s Programme Manager in the region, says “There was a cultural barrier when it came to using latrines. In particular, there was reluctance for people related by marriage to use the same facilities. This meant that we had to try to change the community’s perspective.”

However, the results have been very impressive.  Winfred reports “It used to be common to walk across a village and come across mounds of human waste. Today, in the villages where we work, you cannot see any human waste littering the ground.”

One of the residents who has benefited from Concern’s work in Marsabit county is Fatuma Ismael, a 39 year old mother of nine.  She says “Before Concern came to this village, we used to defecate in the open fields around.   For us ladies, we had to go far away for the sake of our privacy. It was like a punishment.  Besides, defecating in the open put our health at risk and made our water dirty. Often our children got diarrhoea. Since constructing this toilet, I have decided that I will always have a toilet. It is so convenient. I don’t have to go to the bush any more. I have my hand washing facility here – after going to the toilet, I wash my hands and am clean. I have also taught my children to wash their hands.”

But Concern’s impact in Marsabit county extends far beyond the 21 villages initially targeted.  At the last count, there were 35 communities with latrines, 14 more than Concern had expected.  Between March 2016 and the end of August 2016, the number of households with latrines increased from 328 to 458 – a result Winfred describes as “truly amazing”.  It is also clear that the number of users per latrine has been decreasing as the number of latrines rises.

The construction of latrines in these 14 additional villages came about without any material support from Concern.  In some cases, village representatives spontaneously approached Concern, requesting training or guidance on latrine structures, and this was always given.  In many cases, communities have also organized themselves, forming small committees to manage sanitation in each village.

Winfred is delighted with the impact she and her colleagues have had.  She says “We are looking at scaling up this approach across the whole of Marsabit county.  But we are also working to ensure that what has been achieved so far is sustainable at the community level.”

You can see Fatuma and some of her neighbours talking about their latrines in this video on the Concern website.