Working with city authorities to improve services and practices

This Topic Brief documents the approach, outcomes and learning of an integrated sanitation and hygiene programme implemented in Maputo, Mozambique during the period 2013-2017. The programme was funded by the World Bank-managed Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF), and implemented by WSUP and the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) of the World Bank.

The programme aimed to leverage established relationships between WSUP, WSP and the Maputo Municipal Council (CMM) to respond to the continuing need for improved sanitation services in Maputo’s densely populated low-income neighbourhoods (known locally as ‘bairros’).

An analysis of faecal waste flows in Maputo shows that only 3% of the total faecal waste produced passes through the treatment plant, while more than 50% contaminates backyards, the drainage system and Maputo Bay.

To develop a scalable intervention strategy, the JSDF-funded programme targeted the whole of Nlhamankulu District (11 low-income communities with a combined population of 145,000 people), comprising 1) the improvement of toilets in low-income rental compounds; 2) the development of sustainable private sector capacity to provide FSM services adapted to the physical and economic conditions in the bairros; and 3) building technical capacity in CMM’s sanitation department, and promotion of improved sanitary practices at household level.