Sustaining the gains of community-led total sanitation (CLTS) through latrine demonstration centre: a case study of rural communities’ challenge of constructing latrines on loose soil formation in Jigawa state, Nigeria

摘要

Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) remains a very effective sanitation strategy to help ruralcommunities to stop open defecation. It is a Strategy that has had unprecedented outcomes in motivatingrural communities to transform from a haven of open defecation to clean environments where allhouseholds now have and use latrines. This is the experience in rural communities of Birniwa Localgovernment of Jigawa State where open defecation was a norm and was never connected to the prevalentcases of diarrhea especially among children. Even though, there had been several health enforcementinterventions by the sanitary Inspectors of the LGA for people to build latrines, yet the practice of opendefecation persisted. This situation remained until CLTS was introduced and implemented throughUNICEF/DFID supported Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) aimed at promoting masssafe excreta disposal campaign, first among households and then to communities taking charge of theirsanitation. Introduction of CLTS helped so many communities to construct latrines and open defecationwas gradually becoming history. Suddenly, latrines began to collapse and open defecation crawled itsback into nerve center of communities especially communities with loose soil formation.The onus was now on us to find lasting solution to this challenge. A forum of local artisans was organizedby the affected communities from which various local latrine options emerged for demonstration andadaptation. A demonstration center was supported by UNICEF for all communities to visit and borrow themost affordable option for their communities. Once again, this initiative has brought back smiles into facesof householders who were disappointed at the negative experience of collapsing latrines. Now, CLTS isback on its track.