San-Dem

About

In the urban slums of Lusaka, only 56% of the population are reported to have access to an improved latrine (WHO, Unicef, 2013). This study will determine how far a state-of-the-art approach to behaviour change can enhance demand for and acquisition of improved toilets in peri-urban informal settlements in Bauleni Compound in Lusaka, Zambia. Building on previous work, it will demonstrate the potential role for demand creation in accelerating uptake of improved sanitation without improving supply. 

Led by CIDRZ in collaboration with LSHTM, the study will use the Behaviour Centered Design methodology, and a cluster randomised controlled trial will evaluate the intervention. The study's primary outcome will be the proportion of households that improve their motivation to acquire an improved toilet within 6 months of the intervention. The secondary outcome will be the proportion of households that upgrade their latrines from ‘unimproved’ to ‘improved’ toilet.

If successful, this project could offer a scalable sanitation intervention and may be used in addition to current attempts to address urban sanitation through approaches modelled on Community-Led Total Sanitation, or as a component of sanitation marketing.