Access to Improved Latrines for the Poorest People: West and Central Africa Region

Abstract

This Sanitation and Hygiene Hunter-Gatherer Thematic Note focuses on access to improved latrines for the poorest. A significant proportion of the rural population lives below the poverty line. This raises an equity problem when it comes to improved latrine access. The poorest people are those who find it most difficult to rebuild their latrines when they collapse. As such, it is these households that are most likely to lapse back to open defecation (OD). It costs more to build a sustainable latrine. There are very few funding mechanisms available for the poor.

Identification and targeting are difficult: how can the poorest be identified when every household claims to be amongst the poorest?