MALAWI- Situational Analysis: CLTS/SLTS/ULTS

MALAWI- Situational Analysis: CLTS/SLTS/ULTS

Malawi- Situational analysis on CLTS/SLTS/ULTS

Contents

1. Malawi overview 1

2. Sanitation overview 1

3. PAN Africa CLTS programme in Malawi 1

4. Institutional mapping 2

5. Already existing platforms (networks, LAs) 2

6. Country situational analysis- Malawi 2

Annex 1: Reference review 7

1. Malawi overview

Population: 16,323,044- July 2012 est (Malawi Demographics Profile 2012)

GDP/capita PPP: $925

Main economic activities: subsistence agriculture, mineral exportations

Major cultural groups: Malawi's population is made up of the Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni and Ngonde native ethnic groups, as well as populations of Asians and Europeans.

Religion: Mainly Christian

Political regime: Malawi is a democratic, multi-party government

Geographical context: tropical

2. Sanitation overview

Total population with access to sanitation facilities is at 51% (According to JMP for Water Supply and Sanitation coverage for Sanitation for March, 2012)

MDG target for sanitation: Ensure environmental sustainability

85% of the population lives in rural areas

· Responsible authority for sanitation

Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development and Ministry of Health

· Policies/strategies in place

§ National Sanitation Policy

§ Malawi ODF Strategy 2015

§ Malawi Growth Development Strategy

§ Millennium Development Goals

· Challenges in country

§ Slow adoption of some hygiene and sanitation amenities such as hand washing facilities and drop hole covers by some households

§ Collapsing of some latrines due to heavy rains.

§ Mobility problems by some HSAs

§ Slow process of certifying of ODF villages by the District Coordinating Team

· Major ongoing programmes/initiatives

§ Institutional development

§ Mid – term evaluation

§ Community empowerment

§ Advocacy and campaigns

· History of CLTS in Malawi

The concept of CLTS was introduced in Mzimba district through the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MIWD) and Plan in November 2007. This was followed by a stakeholder meeting organised by UNICEF in April 2008. In June 2008, a national training was facilitated by Kamal Kar. In December 2008, the Government of Malawi launched their Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) for water and sanitation, adopting CLTS as one of the official approach for sanitation. The approach is currently being used by a number of actors in the water and sanitation sector including Plan, UNICEF and InterAide. Plan Malawi introduced the approach in four districts through its respective offices. UNICEF adopted CLTS as a component of their WASH program, currently being delivered in twelve of the twenty-seven districts in Malawi. InterAide introduced CLTS in Lilongwe District.

3. PAN African CLTS programme in Malawi

Target population:

· 94,587 people

Geographical coverage:

· Lilongwe District in Traditional Authority Njewa and Mulanje district in Traditional Authority Juma. (102 villages, 20,799 households and 16 schools)

Overall objective:

To achieve sustainable improvement in health of 94,587 poor people of Traditional Authority Njewa in Lilongwe district and Traditional Authority Juma in Mulanje district.

Specific objective:

To eliminate open defecation in 102 villages of Traditional Authorities Njewa and Juma through the use of CLTS approach and improve access to sanitation in 16 schools through the use of SLTS approach.

Project objectives

· To improve knowledge on key hygiene practices and corresponding behaviour change, leading to reduction of water borne and water related diseases in home s and schools

· To improve access to total sanitation in villages and schools

· To develop and strengthen monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and networking systems

· To increase capacity of local government service providers to effectively plan, lead and support development initiatives, including District Assemblies, Area and Village development committees, government extension workers and community natural leaders.

Progress :

· Capacity building for 165 Extension Workers (Plan and various NGOs (UNICEF, GOAL Malawi, Africare, Hygiene Village Project, Mulanje Mission Hospital, Water for People and Red Cross)

· 177 villages triggered

· 33 villages ODF unverified

· 10 Villages already certified and celebrated

· 59 natural leaders built in CLTS capacity (triggered 14 villages out of the 177)

· 29 school teachers imparted with CLTS knowledge

· 16 schools triggered

Networking with 12 UNICEF districts

Challenges:

· Mobility problems by some HSAs

· Slow adoption of some hygiene and sanitation amenities such as hand washing facilities and drop hole covers by some households

· Collapsing of some latrines due to heavy rains.

· Slow process of certifying of ODF villages by the District Coordinating Team

3. Institutional mapping

In terms of institutional mapping, the following points can be cited so far:

· Country Programme Manager at National Level provide leadership and oversight support to Program Areas

· Program Officers at district level oversees direct implementation of the project

· DCT provide supervisory and monitoring support

· Communication Officer support advocacy and project communication

· Networks-Sharing

4. Already existing platforms (networks, LAs)

· National : Sanitation and Hygiene technical group (chaired by PLAN), Sector working group for water and sanitation, WES NGO network

· District : District Coordination team, CLTS taskforce

· Community : Natural Leaders Network.

5. Country situational analysis- Malawi

1. Country- brief historical overview

Malawi is among the world's least developed and most densely populated countries. The economy is heavily based on agriculture, with a largely rural population. The Malawian government depends heavily on outside aid to meet development needs, although this need (and the aid offered) has decreased since 2000. The Malawian government faces challenges in growing the economy, improving education, health care and the environmental protection and becoming financially independent. Malawi has several programs developed since 2005 that focus on these issues, and the country's outlook appears to be improving, with improvements in economic growth, education and healthcare seen in 2007 and 2008.

Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. There is a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, which is a drain on the labour force and government expenditures, and is expected to have a significant impact on gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010.

There is a diverse population of native peoples, Asians and Europeans, with several languages spoken and an array of religious beliefs. Although there was tribal conflict in the past, by 2008 it had diminished considerably and the concept of a Malawian nationality had begun to form. Malawi has a culture combining native and colonial aspects, including sports, art, dance and music.

2. Role of CLTS in Malawi

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is an approach to sanitation promotion which has been implemented in the 12 UNICEF WASH Districts in Malawi since 2008. It is an innovative approach which guides communities into stopping the practice of open defecation (OD) through the realization that they are eating their own faeces’. Since 2009, Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) has provided technical assistance for CLTS in partnership with UNICEF.

EWB conducted a research study in TA Mkanda in Mulanje district in order to ensure that the CLTS approach is truly effective in creating Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages and identify areas for improvement before scale out. It was also meant to assess whether the sanitation behaviour changes realized through CLTS are sustainable one year after triggering.

This study involved males and females of various ages from a sample of 10% of the previously triggered villages in TA Mkanda, representing 20 villages in total (half of which were declared ODF and the other half of which were non-ODF). For each village, 10% of the households were randomly selected for interviews and observation, regardless of whether the households had latrines or not. Each latrine (if present at the household) of the selected households was visited and the researchers engaged in discussions with representatives from the chosen households. Latrine quality and usage was collected through structured questionnaires. Focus group discussions were held to probe further on sanitation behaviours. For more information refer to the following link:

http://www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Mkanda_Research.pdf.

This honest study revealed that for this specific district the efficacy of the CLTS approach in TA Mkanda is in question, much less the sustainability of ODF status in communities. Recommendations for key stakeholders are outlined below.

· UNICEF:

Agree with the DCT on a specific date for submission of monthly CLTS reports

Conduct annual evaluation visits on the ground to ensure that the financial support produces desired results

· District Coordinating Team (DCT):

Organize quarterly meetings to evaluate CLTS progress, analyze problems, and create mitigation strategies

Set specific dates for submission of monthly CLTS reports by both the Task Force and extension workers (primarily HSAs) to ensure thorough follow-ups are conducted and valid data is collected from the field

Ensure provision of monthly reporting forms to give extension staff adequate field time for data collection

Allocate fuel specifically for monitoring CLTS activities and allow every member of the Task Force to access it

· CLTS Trainers:

Review the training manual to ensure critical steps for the triggering process are highlighted for facilitators.

· Task Force:

Conduct thorough verification of villages before declaring ODF status (not only rely on extension worker data)

Adopt ODF verification criteria which ensures that all basic futures for improved latrines are in place

Intensify supervisory visits to natural leaders to monitor CLTS activities

· Community Leaders:

§ Encourage community members to construct latrines and lead by example

§ Advise community members to adopt new pit latrine model that withstands heavy rains and sandy soils

§ Encourage people to emulate the design of pit latrines which have stood in the same area for years without collapsing

§ Ensure that community members assist the physically challenged and elderly

3. Case study

Pan-African Programme

Making the difference in the school in Malawi

Role of SLTS

Plan Malawi implemented a School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) project in 2009 as a pilot in Kasungu Program Unit following the successful use of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in communities and it has now covered 12 primary schools[1]. The aim of the project was to provide access to improved sanitation and hygiene behaviours in schools by stopping practicing open defecation in surrounding communities and the targeted primary schools though the use of SLTS approach. SLTS recognizes the crucial role that children play as change agents in sanitation and hygiene intervention.

SLTS project implementation

SLTS was implemented in the program unit in line with the elements and tools used in CLTS approach. Well versed CLTS facilitators comprising a team of four; two from Plan Malawi-Community Development Facilitators (CDFs) and two Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) from the District Health Office spearheaded the school based triggering.

The project focused on three phases, namely: Pre-triggering, triggering, and post triggering.

Pre-triggering

The facilitators met to prepare for the ignition phase and shared roles and responsibilities. The team of facilitators also deliberated on a checklist to use when igniting the schools. The criteria for selection included; the availability of School Management Committee, Parents Teachers Associations, sanitation/health clubs, inadequate sanitary facilities and where necessary evidence of open defecation. The facilitators also made sure that all the required materials were made available in good time and that the learners who participated in the process were a good and manageable size, this was keeping in mind that the whole school would be destructible to the process of SLTS. Triggering

The process involved mapping of the school catchment area including surrounding households that were within reach during break periods. The process further used flow diagrams to estimate the volume of hazardous material within the school premises including shit lying within their school catchment’s area. In Malawi, the use of “walk of shame” and “walks of praise” are frequently used and have proved very crucial in bringing self realisation of stopping open defecation and self-respect among learners and teachers. In Kasungu where Plan piloted SLTS, open defecation was necessitated by the vast available bush that surrounded the schools. Pupils were asked to choose any material that symbolised/represented open defecation areas. During SLTS ignition phase schools were represented by 10 members ranging from head teachers, a patron/matron, 2 community members and 6 learners from standard 5, 6, and 7. This process also made sure to include Advisors for Primary Schools (PEAs) in the targeted zones and also Assistant Environmental Health Officer (AEHO) who were tasked with supervising the whole process. Once a collective consensus was built on the need to stop open defecation, the schools drew up an action plan to follow in order to attain open defecation free status.

Post triggering

Kasungu Program Unit Community Development Facilitators in conjunction with the government extension workers (HSAs) made follow up visits to all the 12 schools. This was done to check the extent to which the schools had gone in implementing the agreed action plan and also were necessary to provide back stopping support. . All the schools developed their own action plans in improving their sanitation situation by working on sanitary facilities such as latrines, hand washing facilities and drop-hole covers. School children were able to mobilize themselves by providing locally available materials such as plastic bottles to make hand washing facilities. The schools which already had permanent latrines but without hand washing facilities were quick to erect them soon after the triggering process. Throughout the process, it is evident that there is not much difference between SLTS and CTLS in triggering collective action.

School/pupils and teachers reactions

Teachers: They are now supervising the children in maintenance of hygiene and sanitation standards within the school premises, advising and ensuring that children use sanitary facilities; tell pupils to regularly fill the and washing facilities with water and encourage children to practice the same in their homes.

Pupil sanitation clubs: The pupils are giving hygiene and sanitation talks during morning assemblies at the school; performing drama with hygiene themes; promote awareness on hygiene and sanitation practices in the surrounding communities.