Linking urban sanitation agencies with poor community needs: A study of Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa

Abstract

This study, which was undertaken in three Southern African countries, namely Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, aims to make a contribution towards the improvement of environmental sanitation conditions in poor urban areas through bridging the gap that exists between sanitation agencies and the urban poor, by developing effective linkages. In order to achieve this, an assessment of existing levels and the quality of sanitation services, and of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of both sanitation agencies and the urban poor, was carried out in selected poor urban areas in the three study countries. Institutional policies, approaches, strategies and cost recovery mechanisms of the relevant agencies, and the links between poor communities and these agencies, were also analysed. The study was implemented in 12 informal settlements: Harare, Epworth, and Gutu and Gokwe growth points in Zimbabwe, two each in Ndola and Lusaka in Zambia, and two each in Pretoria and Durban in South Africa. A total of 3,323 households were surveyed, and representatives of 53 sanitation agencies, including government officials, were also interviewed.

Citation

27th WEDC Conference in Lusaka, August 2001, 4 pp.

Linking urban sanitation agencies with poor community needs: A study of Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa

Published 1 January 2001