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SANITATION PROJECT: CAMBODIA
Field implementation of this project began in April 2009. This is an ongoing project.
Water and sanitation are one of the most pressing issues facing people in rural Cambodia. Cambodia’s rural sanitation coverage is less than 16% and is amongst the lowest in the world. Over 11 million Cambodians lack access to improved sanitation. Diarrheal diseases are the number one cause of sickness and death amongst Cambodian children, with 20% of children under 5 years old suffering from diarrhea. The health impact due to poor sanitation and hygiene result in an estimated 12,000 deaths per year. Economic losses due to poor sanitation are estimated at a staggering USD 448 million annually, over 7% of Cambodia’s Gross Domestic Product (Hutton et al. 2008).
A joint initiative between WTO and Lien Aid the WASH Marketing Project aims to improve the health and quality of life of rural Cambodians by increasing access to water, sanitation and hygiene products and services through market based approaches. The project aims to create household demand for WASH products and services and to help the private sector to meet this demand. The project provides support for design and marketing of appropriate low cost sanitation products and services, training and assistance to private sector enterprises and linkages to local government facilitators in order to create a local sanitation industry.
Objectives
The objectives of the project are to:
* Motivate and sustain changes in sanitation, water and hygiene behaviours
* Create consumer demand by addressing barriers to consumption and increasing knowledge of water and sanitation products & services
* Improve supply by increasing access to safe, sustainable, affordable water and sanitation products & services
Our Approach
To achieve our objectives, we will:
* Initiate and strengthen behaviour change activities, building on Community-Led Total Sanitation initiatives where possible
* Develop and implement promotional campaigns based on market-based research
* Drive down the cost of water and sanitation components and develop affordable, upgradeable latrine designs
* Work with local masons and small enterprises to improve technical and business management skills
* Strengthen the supply chain for water and sanitation products & services
Partners
Lien Aid and WTO work closely with the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Kampong Speu Provincial Department of Rural Development (PDRD), as well as district, commune and village officials.
The project is supported by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Enterprise Development Program, a public-private partnership led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Target Area
Phase 1 of the project focuses on 4 districts in Kampong Speu Province, including 31 communes and 537 villages. Within the target area, there are approximately 55,800 households and 292,600 people. The latrine coverage rate in the target area is approximately 25% percent.
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Happy owners of new toilet
Householder digging pit for his newly latrine
A new latrine
Installing latrine prototypes
Group discussion about
latrine prototypes
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