Akumuntu Jean Baptiste, Wehn Uta, Mulenga Martin, Brdjanovic Damir
Water & Sanitation Corporatin (WASAC), Rwanda.
Integrated Water Systems & Governance Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, The Netherlands.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2017 Aug;220(6):960-973. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.05.001. Epub 2017 May 23.
The lack of access to basic sanitation is a global concern and alarmingly prevalent in low- and middle- income countries. In the densely populated settlements of these countries, on-site sanitation systems are usually the only feasible option because dwellers there have no sewers in place to connect to. Using on-site sanitation facilities results in an accumulation of faecal sludge which needs to be properly managed to ensure the well-being of the users as well as the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, often the conditions for faecal sludge management (FSM) within dense settlements are adverse and thus hamper sustainable FSM. We use the normative framework of the FSM enabling environment to gather empirical evidence from densely populated settlements of Kigali city in Rwanda to examine current FSM practices and the extent to which these are being influenced and affected by the setting within which they are taking place. The analysis of the study findings confirms that the existing conditions for FSM in these settlements are inadequate. The specific constraints that hinder the achievement of sustainable FSM include limited government focus on the sanitation sector, high turnover of staff in relevant government institutions, pit sludge management is not placed on the sanitation projects agenda, the existing relevant bylaws are not pro-poor oriented, a lack of clear responsibilities, a lack of relevant local professional training opportunities, unaffordability of FSM services and an inhibition to discuss FSM. Drawing on the involved stakeholders' own perceptions and suggestions, we identify possible approaches to overcome the identified constraints and to allow all actors in the FSM chain to contribute effectively to the management of faecal sludge in densely populated low-income urban settlements. Finally, our study also presents a contribution to the theoretical conceptualisation of the enabling environment for sustainable FSM.
缺乏基本卫生设施是一个全球关注的问题，在低收入和中等收入国家极为普遍。在这些国家人口密集的定居点，现场卫生系统通常是唯一可行的选择，因为那里的居民没有下水道可供连接。使用现场卫生设施会导致粪便污泥的积累，需要对其进行妥善管理，以确保用户以及周围环境的健康。不幸的是，在密集定居点内，粪便污泥管理（FSM）的条件往往不利，从而阻碍了可持续的粪便污泥管理。我们利用粪便污泥管理有利环境的规范框架，从卢旺达基加利市人口密集的定居点收集实证证据，以研究当前的粪便污泥管理做法，以及这些做法在多大程度上受到其发生背景的影响。对研究结果的分析证实，这些定居点中粪便污泥管理的现有条件不足。阻碍实现可持续粪便污泥管理的具体制约因素包括政府对卫生部门的关注有限、相关政府机构工作人员流动率高、坑式污泥管理未列入卫生项目议程、现有的相关法规不倾向于扶贫、缺乏明确的责任、缺乏相关的当地专业培训机会、粪便污泥管理服务费用高昂以及对讨论粪便污泥管理存在抑制。借鉴相关利益攸关方自己的看法和建议，我们确定了可能的方法来克服已确定的制约因素，并使粪便污泥管理链中的所有行为者能够有效地为低收入城市人口密集定居点的粪便污泥管理做出贡献。最后，我们的研究还为可持续粪便污泥管理有利环境的理论概念化做出了贡献。
