Basic Sanitation to the Poorest of the Poor

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Hello everyone. I would like to ask a few questions for your consideration please:

  1. What is the definition of the poorest of the poor in the WASH sector?
  2. Do these two terms mean the same same thing: pro-poor and poorest of the poor?
  3. What indicators are used to define and identify the poorest of the poor in the sector?
  4. What are the approaches that are used to identify the poorest of the poor in our intervention communities?
  5. What is basic sanitation?
  6. What are the components of basic sanitation?
  7. How can the sector ensure that basic sanitation services are provided to the poorest of the poor in a sustainable manner?
  8. What approaches must be adopted to provide basic sanitation services to the poorest of the poor?
  9. What basic sanitation services must be made available to the poorest of the poor in our communities?
  10. Who pays for basic sanitation services to the poorest of the poor? Who must bear the cost for providing sustainable basic sanitation services to the poorest of the poor?

Thank you for keeping this conversation going. I appreciate your time and comments.

Taxonomy

9 Answers

  2. 1. For me, poorest of the poor in the WASH sector is the portion of the community who do not have an access to a potable water and could not make their own comfort rooms. 

    2. Pro poor and poorest of the poor technically not synonymous. Poorest of the poor is necessarily poor but not all poor are among the poorest of the poor.

    3. As I have mentioned above those sectors who do not have an access to potable water and could not make their own comfort rooms in their respective houses.

    4. Usually, based on the survey among the poor communities. An interview with questions in a format set for the purpose is to be conducted. With the consent of the Local Government Unit concern. The list previously conducted by the government agency mandated to do the survey may also be reference.

    5. Basic sanitation in the WASH sector is to have a proper comfort rooms to the community and have an access to the potable water. 

  3. The Poor and poorer are the comparative(relative) word depends upon country to country.the relationship the very poorest people have with growth is different from that for the poor as a whole (relative). The poorest in terms of relative severity.A more in depth analysis would involve identification of the $1/day poor and extreme poor (usually at 75 cents), Increasing access to WASH can contribute significantly to improving health outcomes, and is particularly important to efforts aimed at reducing the burden of disease and malnutrition, as well as relieving pressure on the healthcare system as a whole.   WASH indicators, including number of water sources, population with dedicated hand washing facility in the household, and percent of population using open defecation as main and regular source. Basic ​sanitation is ​usually ​associated ​with ​access to ​drinking water WASH is an acronym that stands for "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene". Universal, affordable and sustainable access to WASH is a key public health issue within international development and is the focus of Sustainable Development. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are crucial for good outcomes in health, nutrition, education and livelihoods. Furthermore, access to water and sanitation have been recognised as human rights.Increasing access to WASH can contribute significantly to improving health outcomes, and is particularly important to efforts aimed at reducing the burden of disease and malnutrition, as well as relieving pressure on the healthcare system as a whole.

    To eradicate poverty, it is crucial that the benefits of investment in WASH reach the entire population, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. Unfortunately, overall progress towards the MDG targets for water and sanitation has masked significant and growing disparities in access between countries, rich and poor, and urban and rural communities.

    Recognise that universal access to WASH is an essential component of an integrated approach to tackling poverty, hunger, ill-health and inequality. 3 Recognise that achieving and sustaining universal access to WASH depends on establishing accountable systems for equitable and sustainable management of water resources.

    All the countries are pro-poorest in an absolute sense.A number of countries are also relatively pro-poorest. The growth elasticities of poverty indicate how effective growth is in translating into poverty reduction.it is necessary to define what is meant by ‘pro-poor growth’ (PPG). There are two conceptual understandings. A relative concept of PPG refers to growth in which the incomes of the poor increase disproportionately (such that inequality decreases). An absolute concept of PPG in turn focuses on the growth rates among the poor, defining growth as pro-poor if poverty is reduced.

    Those countries who experienced significant poverty reduction, high rates of growth and significant increases in their inequality (El Salvador, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Vietnam, India, Brazil, Bangladesh). These countries were associated with an upward sloping Growth Incidence Curve suggesting that the income growth of richer percentiles was faster than the income growth of the poorer percentiles;

    Those who experienced moderate rates of poverty reduction and growth, and where inequality declined (Burkina Faso, Bolivia, Indonesia, Romania, Zambia). This pattern of development was associated with downward sloping growth incidence curves implying that the income of households in the lower percentiles grew by more than income in the top percentiles

     

     

     

     

    1 Comment

    1. Very insightful. Thanks for the contribution....

  4. In my opinion and experiences across areas I have had the privilege of visiting - the level of appropriateness per application should define the basic sanitation application. I have seen many inappropriate applications where the "poorer of the poor" are provided with services that fail, and some that function, however. On-site sanitation (pit latrines, UD, self composting, et al) are likely to be basic sanitation applications although, again in my opinion, they do not seem to be appropriate for various reasons, inclusive of odour generation leading to vector attraction and as a result elevated sickness and disease, safety both personal and structurally, groundwater contamination, maintenance and no real opportunity to recover and recycle water for sanitation.

    So perhaps, if one considers the advancement of simple waterborne sanitation systems, this could still be a more appropriate application, albeit at single household level. Yes water supply and power will more than likely be necessary, but technologies are available to apply this and the treated effluent can be utilised for recycling and/or re-use as applicable.

    Community engagement, education and acceptance of any "basic sanitation" application is key to sustain that function, again sometimes an activity that is overlooked by decision makers. Water drawn from wells in remote regions are being paid for by these communities, so cost recovery is not insurmountable, but indeed will be sensitive. What is affordable?

    So perhaps the term you are seeking to define should be sustainable, appropriate basic sanitation - and I would expect this to not be a general definition but variable according to region and application

    2 Comments

    1. Thanks so much for contributing to this discussion.

  7. Hello we must already define what sanitation is really because at the time of today it is confusing.

    What is basic sanitation?

    There is no basic sanitation it's a heresy. Any production of or from it, of the number of persons who produce it, of what nationality, of what standard of living, of which origin environment, of waste water production is substantially always the same, of domestic wastewater:

    1 feces, 2 greywater, 3 kitchen waters.

    Any person responsible for a pollution must make every effort to deal with this pollution. Except that man since the dawn of time defecates on the ground without worrying about the fate of his excrement in the image of the beasts.

    Sanitation should not be a waste water collection infrastructure, it must also incorporate the sewage treatment tool. But not a tool that filters and gets rid of pollution, no. A real tool that eliminates pollution.

    Basic sanitation starts from the beginning of wastewater production. What are the pollutions that will be injected into it? Can some of these pollution be reduced from the outset? The cleaning tool must not be located in a 10km area of the production but on site and individual.

    Each domesticity must be equipped with an individual purification device. Less costly, more efficient, under the responsibility of the users.

    The basic sanitation of the poorest must be the responsibility of the community as well as the collective sanitation. It is the community that regulates the individual settlement. It may require in compensation a slight annual compensatory indemnity.  

    If the community implants the purification system of the disadvantaged populations, it protects the whole environment of the community, the health of the workers, the lives of the poor, who in return will consume and can be taxed a small sum compensatory of The sanitation facility.

    This is done well in the highly developed countries for the collective sanitation of urban areas whose inhabitants pay a wealth of annual remedial tax allowances..

    jean Marius 

    1 Comment

  8. Hello, I agree that this is the duty of States but there are still about 2,5 bn people lacking access to sanitation and more than 80% wastewater untreated!

    Instead of expensive micro-credits for disadvantaged population, we work on reverse credits to equip houses for sanitations, water and energy. We call it reverse because the payment can be basis the value of wastewater that everybody has. If you tackle a particular community, pls fill in our form http://www.pranasustainablewater.ch/en/form_service/index.php 

  9. Hello Samuel,

    an old definition of the poorest of the poor comes from UN leaflets and indciate that people on this planet living with less than $1 would qualify. There is also tendancy to refer to the "poorest in poor country" but this may not satisfy governments own reference to being a "poor country". "Pro-poor" doesn't mean anything to me.

    Basic sanitation is usually associated with access to drinking water (i.e. water that is achieving WHO standard for Drinking Water) and is considered to be some sort of treatment of sewage as opposed to doing it (urinating and defecating in the environment). So you need a space/area where people go and urinate and defecate that is controlled (closed space) and that is collecting and treating sewage. Methods will vary depnding on the amount of money you can spend, the social needs and the environment.

    People with money can pay and support the development by the community of the infrastructure. People with more money include a generous funder to government or international organisation. The community of the poorest of the poor can also get themselves organised and develop this solution without too much import from others. I am inclined to say that governments have a duty to take care of the health of its population and is responsible for the development of the country's infrastructure therefore some sort of engagement is desirable.

    I hope this helps

    1 Comment

    1. Thanks so much.