Cambodia

The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP)-supported Sanitation Marketing Pilot Project is one of a range of sanitation marketing initiatives applying the sanitation ma... Show More + rketing approach to the rural Cambodian context. The project designed a new affordable pour-flush latrine package (the 'Easy Latrine'), trained local enterprises to profitably produce and sell it, and developed sales and promotional strategies to increase consumer demand. In less than two years, households from four provinces purchased a total of 10,621 unsubsidized Easy Latrines from local private enterprises. In 601 monitored villages, there was a 7.7 percentage point increase in improved sanitation coverage from a baseline of 24 percent, which is six times higher than the background rate of increase. Thus, a significant and rapid increase in durable latrine coverage could be achieved without the use of any hardware subsidies. Show Less -

Safe water is critical to preventing diarrheal disease, which kills nearly two million children annually. A promising household water treatment technology is the Bi... Show More + oSand Filter (BSF), an intermittent slow sand filter that is locally produced in Cambodia and several other developing countries. However, despite promising laboratory performance, the BSF lacks adequate description and epidemiological evidence on its field performance and health impact. The BSF is a robust water treatment technology for use in rural Cambodian households, capable of effective removal of indicator bacteria, specifically E. coli, and significant reduction of diarrheal disease. BSF performance is comparable to other recommended household water treatment interventions, such as the ceramic water purifier; however BSFs provide the additional advantage of not being prone to breakage or needing replacement parts. Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence that the BSF is a promising household point-of-use (POU) water treatment option to achieve sustained access to safe water. Show Less -

Vietnam, like other countries of Asia, is on a development path that is lifting large numbers of people out of poverty and improving access to goods and services th... Show More + at improve quality of life. Vietnam has done well so far in achieving significant development gains, especially in terms of poverty reduction. However, some aspects of development are being forgotten in the race to economic progress, affecting especially the vulnerable and low income groups. Sanitation is one such neglected aspect of development. In places where the public purse is severely limited and population needs seemingly boundless, sanitation is not deemed attractive or important enough to gain the attention of politicians or journalists. It is often seen as a private matter to be handled by the household or local community, and something that results from economic development rather than being seen as a precondition for economic development. Also, institutionally, sanitation is sidelined by lack of clear ministerial responsibilities. This study examines the major health, water, environmental, tourism, and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation. By examining the economic impacts of poor sanitation, and the potential gains from improved sanitation, this study provides important evidence to support further investments in sanitation. Show Less -

Vietnam, like other countries of Asia, is on a development path that is lifting large numbers of people out of poverty and improving access to goods and services th... Show More + at improve quality of life. Vietnam has done well so far in achieving significant development gains, especially in terms of poverty reduction. However, some aspects of development are being forgotten in the race to economic progress, affecting especially the vulnerable and low income groups. Sanitation is one such neglected aspect of development. In places where the public purse is severely limited and population needs seemingly boundless, sanitation is not deemed attractive or important enough to gain the attention of politicians or journalists. It is often seen as a private matter to be handled by the household or local community, and something that results from economic development rather than being seen as a precondition for economic development. Also, institutionally, sanitation is sidelined by lack of clear ministerial responsibilities. This study examines the major health, water, environmental, tourism, and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation. By examining the economic impacts of poor sanitation, and the potential gains from improved sanitation, this study provides important evidence to support further investments in sanitation. Show Less -

Rural sanitation projects have, by and large, not enjoyed high levels of success in developing countries. Many lessons have been learned about what does not work, f... Show More + rom the numerous broken down, unused or discarded "improved" latrines dotting the rural landscape and the still high mortality and morbidity from water and sanitation related diseases. There is little known documented evidence however, of what does work for rural sanitation, and why. What makes services sustainable and what leads to their effective use by all? This multi-country study therefore set out to find communities where sanitation interventions have been relatively more successful and learn from them what contributed to the success. Policy formulation efforts are under way in Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, in the sanitation and water supply sector. The aim was to feed into this effort by investigating how positive outcomes such as high sanitation coverage came about in the selected communities in each country and what influencing factors helped or hindered those outcomes. The consultations also explored to what extent community hygiene behaviors had changed towards more health protecting practices, and what actually sustains access of the poor to sanitation, over the long-term. Show Less -