WSUP has won the Inclusion Award from AfricaSan in recognition of our work to improve shared sanitation services in Maputo, Mozambique.
The AMCOW AfricaSan Awards aim to raise the profile of sanitation and hygiene in development agendas; promote excellence in leadership and innovation; and put the spotlight on bold initiatives and innovations that inspire action.
The Inclusion Award specifically honours initiatives that develop and implement scalable programmes that target vulnerable and under-served communities to provide access to sanitation and hygienic services.
WSUP won the award for a programme which enabled the Maputo Municipal Council (CMM) to provide high-quality shared sanitation in the densely populated areas or ‘bairros’ of Maputo, where there is neither space nor money for a toilet for each household. Our innovative model has been recognised as an effective solution which shows that well-designed shared latrines can improve quality of life for the poorest urban residents.
Carla Costa, Country Programme Manager, Mozambique said:
“We are delighted to win this award and are grateful to the AfricaSan committee for this prestigious recognition. Our programme in Mozambique has demonstrated that shared sanitation services are an effective solution to address the sanitation crisis. Through our work, we have also shown that they can be sustainable, inclusive and financially viable.”
It has also enabled CMM to strengthen its commitment to citywide sanitation, as well as providing an approach which can be replicated in other cities.
WSUP has been working in Mozambique since 2007 and since then has supported a wide range of interventions that to drive sustainable water and sanitation improvements throughout the densely populated low-income districts of Maputo.
With a strong emphasis on community participation, the delivery of high-quality shared sanitation – comprising Communal Sanitation Blocks (CSBs) and shared toilets – places the needs of women and girls at the centre of programme planning and implementation.
Under the model, the local bairro administration delegates management of CSBs to a Sanitation Block Management Committee. Women are involved in every step, from siting and design of the facilities to adopting leadership positions in the Committees. Of the 87 committees established to date, 80% have a female president and 58% a female vice-president.
Sustainability of the programme was further promoted through training of community leaders and local administration staff in the monitoring of water and sanitation services; and through a financing model encompassing user fee contribution for both capital and maintenance costs.
The programme, which took place in Maputo’s Nhlamankulu District, improved sanitation conditions and practices among residents of 11 low-income communities with a population of 145,000 people.
It has also influenced the Sanitation and Drainage Master Plan for Maputo (2016-2020) and WSUP is now working alongside CMM and the regulator, CRA, to progress the introduction of a sanitation surcharge which will help address Maputo’s sanitation financing gap.
WSUP’s programme in Nhlamankulu was funded by the World Bank-managed Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF).
Find out more:
Blog: Shared sanitation: benefitting residents in Maputo and beyond
Report: An integrated approach to peri-urban sanitation in Maputo
Top image: Ana Jackson, WSUP’s Project Coordinator in Mozambique, collecting the award