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  (Book) Political Dynamics of Transnational Agrarian Movements

  Marc Edelman, Saturnino M. Borras, Jr.

  Transnational agrarian movements (TAMs) are organizations, networks, coalitions and solidarity linkages of farmers, peasants, pastoralists and their allies that cross national boundaries and seek to influence national and global policies. Today’s TAMs have contributed to reframing a wide range of de...

• (Journal Article) Return to learn: recommendations from revisited rural ecosan projects in Burkina Faso

  01.01.2020
  Burkina Faso has extensive experience with urine-diverting dry toilets (UDDTs) and the reuse of human excreta in agriculture in line with the ecological sanitation (ecosan) principles of containment, treatment, and reuse. Around 30 such ecosan projects have been implemented over the past 15 years, including installation of approximately 13,500 household UDDTs, accompanied by awareness-building and training on toilet use, emptying, and reuse. Recently, efforts have been made to revisit former and current project sites in the spirit of ‘return to learn’. We identified four such learning initiatives (studies/events), from which we draw recommendations to improve the sustainability of future implementation of ecosan in Burkina Faso and similar contexts. Key recommendations include increased attention to different user needs, handwashing and training on emptying/reuse as well as research and innovation on toilet design, urine collection/handling, menstrual management, and cost reduction/financing. Burkina Faso has set up the ambitious goal of 100 per cent toilet coverage and optimal reuse in the national sanitation programme by 2030, with UDDTs projected to make up 15 per cent of the 2 million toilets needed in rural areas. It is therefore timely to take stock and learn from past interventions. In addition, to enable resource recovery and reuse at scale, it will be important to develop a supportive policy and legal framework with collaboration between the WASH, agriculture, health, and environmental sectors.

• (Journal Article) Relationship between water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition: what do Link NCA nutrition causal analyses say?

  01.10.2017
  Defined by UNICEF as ‘the outcome of insufficient food intake and repeated infectious diseases’, undernutrition is one of the world’s most serious problems, with long-lasting harmful impacts on health and devastating consequences for social and economic development. The three main underlying causes of undernutrition, namely unsuitable or insufficient food intake, poor care practices, and infectious diseases, are directly or indirectly related to inadequate access to water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene practices (WASH). There is a growing base of evidence showing the links between poor WASH conditions, especially exposure to poor sanitation, and stunting (low height for age ratio). However, the effects of WASH interventions on wasting (low weight for height ratio) and the impact of environmental enteric dysfunction (chronic infection of small intestine caused by extended exposure to faecal pathogens) on undernutrition should be explored further. Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim) promotes a participatory nutrition causal analysis, the Link NCA methodology, which is used to analyse complex, dynamic, locally specific causes of undernutrition. This article aims to assess the main findings from 12 most recent Link NCA studies, conducted from the beginning of 2014 until the end of 2016. Results show that inadequate WASH conditions are often identified as major contributors to undernutrition in the study areas. The article also provides lessons learned and a set of practical recommendations for better alignment and integration of WASH and nutrition interventions.

• (Journal Article) Assessing emotional motivators for handwashing with soap in emergencies: results from three Asian countries

  01.01.2019
  This paper examines how emotional motivators can be used to promote handwashing with soap (HWWS) among mothers affected by an emergency. The impact of using emotional motivators along with other behaviour determinants for behaviour change in development settings has been well documented; however there is limited evidence for the use of motives for HWWS in emergency contexts. Oxfam, in partnership with Unilever’s Lifebuoy soap and Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Office (CSO), collected data in three countries affected by crises – Nepal (2015), Pakistan (2014), and the Philippines (2015) – to determine motivating factors and barriers around HWWS among mothers. Methods used for the assessment included household survey, structured observation, key informant interview, focus group discussion, and behavioural trials. Post-emergency handwashing knowledge and practice was also measured along with the most effective communication channels to reach the target group. The findings reveal that all mothers were motivated by affiliation and nurture; additionally, in Nepal and Pakistan mothers were motivated by purity and mothers in the Philippines were motivated by handwashing drivers related to shame. Barriers to HWWS in emergencies relate to socio-cultural beliefs and the absence of handwashing hardware.

• (Journal Article) From new evidence to better practice: finding the sanitation sweet spot

  01.10.2017
  A growing body of evidence shows that there is a strong causal link between exposure to poor sanitation and detrimental health, human capital, and economic outcomes. At the same time a number of recent impact evaluations of specific sanitation interventions show mixed results. This heterogeneity in findings raises the questions of whether and how the demonstrated benefits of improved sanitation can be consistently achieved through regular project implementation. This paper attempts to show that the benefits of improved sanitation can be consistently achieved through investing in interventions that address the drivers of latrine use and by divesting from interventions that do not address the drivers of latrine use.

• (Journal Article) The handpump choice is yours: a pilot study in Rumphi District, Malawi

  01.10.2017
  In sub-Saharan Africa, moving towards the Sustainable Development Goals will require an approach to water and sanitation service delivery for many rural communities where handpumps still dominate infrastructure. This paper reviews a case study of allowing users (local government and communities) in Rumphi District, Malawi, to choose a handpump model based on information about the life-cycle costs. The results indicate that there is some awareness within communities and within the local government of several handpump options for the rural water supply in the study area. Given a choice of different handpump models in the treatment communities, each community chose the rope pump. Allowing communities to choose the type of handpump model, with input from both local government and donors on low cost borehole drilling, should be considered as an innovative approach to rural water service delivery.

• (Journal Article) Roads for water: the unused potential

  01.04.2014
  Roads are generally perceived as infrastructure to deliver transport services, but they are more than that. They are major interventions in the hydrology of areas where they are constructed - concentrating runoff and altering subsurface flows. At present, water-related damage constitutes a major cost factor in road maintenance. Using ongoing research from Ethiopia, this article argues to reverse this and turn water from a foe into a friend and integrate water harvesting with road development. Optimized road designs are required - better planning of alignments, making use of road drainage, road surfaces, and river crossings, but also capturing freshly opened springs and systematically including developing storage and enhanced recharge facilities in road-building programmes. Equally important are inclusive planning processes that are sensitive to the multi-functionality of roads but also to the potentially uneven distribution of benefits and the diverse livelihood impacts. There is a need for closer integration of watershed and road-building programmes. With 5.5 million kilometres of roads in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and road building continuing to be one of the largest public investments, the potential of roads for water harvesting is great.

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  (Book) What Works for Africa's Poorest

  David Lawson, David Hulme, Lawrence K. Ado-Kofie

  Although great strides have been made, Africa still lags behind other parts of the world in the reduction of poverty. We now know that the poorest people rarely benefit from poverty reduction programmes, and this is especially true in some countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Microfinance programmes, fo...

• (Journal Article) Identification of the potential opportunities, barriers, and threats within the sector in taking up sanitation as a business: rural sanitation in Nkhata Bay District (Malawi)

  01.07.2014
  Private sector participation in sanitation marketing provides a great opportunity to improve rural sanitation access. Although a number of opportunities for private sector participation within the sanitation sector exist, there are numerous barriers and threats to taking up sanitation as a business. This Note from the Field identifies these opportunities, barriers, and threats in Nkhata Bay District, a rural area of Malawi. These insights emerge from a wider research project entitled ‘Private sector participation in the delivery of sanitation and hygiene services’. This note provides background information on the research project on private sector participation and the project location. It goes on to describe the data collection process and present two examples of business activities in the district sanitation sector, before listing the opportunities, barriers, and threats identified and the recommendations that emerge from them.

• (Journal Article) Adolescent schoolgirls' experiences of menstrual cups and pads in rural western Kenya: a qualitative study

  01.01.2015
  Poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM) among schoolgirls in low income countries affects girls' dignity, self-esteem, and schooling. Hygienic, effective, and sustainable menstrual products are required. A randomized controlled feasibility study was conducted among 14-16-year-old girls, in 30 primary schools in rural western Kenya, to examine acceptability, use, and safety of menstrual cups or sanitary pads. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to evaluate girls' perceptions and experiences six months after product introduction. Narratives from 10 girls' and 6 parents’ FGDs were analysed thematically. Comparison, fear, and confidence were emergent themes. Initial use of cups was slow. Once comfortable, girls using cups or pads reported being free of embarrassing leakage, odour, and dislodged items compared with girls using traditional materials. School absenteeism and impaired concentration were only reported by girls using traditional materials. Girls using cups preferred them to pads. Advantages of cups and pads over traditional items provide optimism for MHM programmes

• (Journal Article) Putting the men into menstruation: the role of men and boys in community menstrual hygiene management

  01.01.2015
  This paper examines how men and boys have an essential role in effective menstrual hygiene programmes and describes an initiative to engage men and boys in Uttar Pradesh, India. Cultural norms around menstruation are rooted in gender inequality and compromise women's ability to manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity. While there has been significant progress in developing comprehensive approaches to menstrual hygiene management (MHM), the role of men and boys in supporting menstrual hygiene has been lacking. In India, WaterAid and Vatsalya have targeted men and boys to address this gap in a programme that started in December 2011. Groups of men and boys were established and sensitized. Male teachers and masons were also trained to provide MHM services in school. Regular monitoring of software and hardware components, focus group discussions with male and female community members, and analysis of attendance registers has been undertaken to assess the emerging outcomes of the programme. As a result of the initiative, men and boys have begun to talk about menstruation more freely and are better able to support the MHM needs of women and girls within the household, community, and school.

• (Journal Article) Menstrual hygiene management and reproductive tract infections: a comparison between rural and urban India

  01.04.2019
  The objective of the research was to compare factors associated with menstrual hygiene management (MHM) between urban and rural ever-married women in India, and its effect on reproductive tract infections (RTIs). A cross-sectional study was performed analysing data from the Indian District Level Household and Facility Survey 2007–08 (DLHS-3). The respondents were ever-married women between 15 and 49 years of age (N = 577,768). A quarter of women from urban areas use improved methods compared with only 4.3 per cent in rural areas. Cloth had the highest prevalence of usage in both areas. Socio-demographic factors associated with the usage of improved methods were almost the same between localities. Women using improved methods were less likely to suffer from RTIs across localities, except for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in rural areas; UTIs (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.95 – 1.03 in rural areas and AOR = 0.80 – 0.88 in urban areas). Findings reiterate the complexity of MHM and the need for immediate attention from the government and other agencies to ensure that girls and women have hygienic practices during their menstrual periods which will help prevent RTIs related to poor MHM.

• (Journal Article) Financing and design innovation in rural domestic rainwater harvesting in Madagascar

  01.04.2019
  Rural water supply interventions in low-resource settings often suffer from poor functionality. The use of technologies and financing approaches, that are out of step with the communities that they target, are primary drivers of this breakdown in supply. This paper describes a pilot study from south-east Madagascar that provides rural households with access to a water source at the home through the sale of rainwater harvesting systems. Results from the pilot show that households were prepared to pay a significant contribution towards establishing a household water supply despite being located in a low-resource, water-abundant region. Over a payback period of six months, zero households defaulted on loans that covered 57 per cent of the costs for materials and transport. Water quality tests demonstrated that the systems were capable of providing water with low levels of microbial contamination (median CFU/100 ml = 7). High levels of adherence to operation and maintenance schedules suggest that people were capable and motivated to maintain and use their systems.

• (Journal Article) Transgender-inclusive sanitation: insights from South Asia

  01.04.2018
  This paper provides insights from initiatives to include transgender people in sanitation programming in South Asia. Three case studies of recent actions to make sanitation inclusive for transgender people (in India and Nepal) are presented, accompanied by reflections and recommendations to guide future practice. Practitioners are recommended to: engage with transgender people as partners at all stages of an initiative; recognize that the language of gender identity is not fixed, varying across cultures and between generations; and acknowledge that transgender people are not a single homogeneous group but rather have diverse identities, histories, and priorities. The case studies aim to raise awareness of the diversity of transgender identities, exploring the needs and aspirations of transgender women, transgender men, and third gender people in South Asia.

• (Journal Article) Incontinence in Zambia: initial investigation into the coping strategies of sufferers and carers

  01.07.2018
  There is little information on the management of incontinence in low-income settings. This article provides some initial insights, of particular relevance to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and health practitioners, into the coping strategies used by sufferers and carers in Zambia. Incontinence is rarely reported to medical professionals in Zambia, possibly due to a reluctance to disclose as a result of the stigma associated with the condition. Management and treatment of incontinence is subsequently limited, and both coping strategies and treatment received are determined by affordability and accessibility. If the global community is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of universal sanitation (Goal 6) and well-being (Goal 3), future studies and programmes on incontinence in Zambia will need to involve collaborations between WASH and health practitioners that investigate how to reduce the stigma associated with the condition and increase awareness, and how to improve the availability and affordability of management and treatment, considering the potential preference for traditional medicine in rural communities.

• (Journal Article) Efficiency of additives and internal physical chemical factors for pit latrine lifetime extension

  01.07.2018
  Pit latrines are the most common form of on-site sanitation, but are blighted by the problem of pit fill-up. Little is known about what factors and conditions affect decomposition of pit content and thus govern pit filling, but the liquid–mass balance is the key factor. Under laboratory conditions the effect of inorganic and biological additives and the effect of physical chemical factors on solids hydrolysis of black water and human faeces were investigated to establish the potential of these to extend pit latrine lifetime. Additives did little or nothing to enhance net solids hydrolysis in batch tests or to reduce pit fill height in miniature simulated pit latrines. Physical chemical factors such as redox condition and initial pH increased solids hydrolysis, whereas temperature and substrate moisture did little. Since additives need contact with the substrate to act, measurements on faeces crust formation speed and strength were performed and showed that crusts formed within three hours and persisted after covering with fresh faeces or water.

• (Journal Article) Green microfinance strategy for entrepreneurial transformation: validating a pattern towards sustainability

  01.12.2015
  This paper illustrates a shifted microfinance modality that adopted greening principles towards sustainability. The empirical context of the research was a green microfinance programme implemented by an NGO microfinance institution at two study sites in Bangladesh. The research conceived and tested a microfinance model underpinned by ‘ecological modernization’ and ‘innovation and entrepreneurship’ theories. Field studies were carried out between January 2012 and June 2013 in order to match the ‘theoretical realm’ with the ‘observational realm’. A case study and participatory methods were the primary means of studying the modality and operations of the green microfinance strategy. The study compared the ecological outcomes of green microfinance-assisted enterprises and traditional microcredit-assisted enterprises and measured their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Cool Farm Tool software was used to quantify GHGs. Comparison with a designed experiment shows that micro-enterprises employing green strategies emit less GHGs than the ones with traditional strategies. The research revealed that the microfinance-based greening interventions help to ensure ecological outcomes for micro-enterprises; thus, the combination of the embedded economic and social elements of the classic microfinance model with the new ecological elements supports sustainability.

• (Journal Article) How is microfinance being regulated in Latin America?

  01.12.2015
  Microfinance regulation is a complex and constantly evolving topic, comprising many and very diverse issues which, moreover, are treated differently by legal systems. This paper suggests a novel comprehensive analysis structure that may serve as a benchmark to analyse different regulation frameworks for microfinance, based on the international guidelines provided by the Association of Supervisors of Banks of the Americas, the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. This structure is then used to compare and relate the regulations of 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

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  (Book) Managing for Sustainable Development Impact

  Cecile Kusters, Karen Batjes

  The development landscape has changed significantly over the last few decades, becoming increasingly complex. Many of the issues we face today such as climate change, poverty and conflict, call for a new way of doing business. This guide shows leaders and development practitioners how to navigate th...

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  (Book) Rural Community Water Supply

  Richard C Carter

  The first Water Decade aimed to serve everyone with safe drinking water by 1990. More than three decades later, the task is far from finished; it is now abundantly clear that it will take more time — in some countries much more time — than the 15 years of the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite t...