Pour-flush latrinesToo much effort has been spent on theintroduction of subsidized water-sealed pour-flush latrines lined withconcrete rings. These have becomepopular, but they do not work verywell and they are too expensive for therural majority. An attempt to cut costs

It was to overcome the problem ofdiarrhoea and other sanitation-relateddiseases that the water and sanitationprogramme I have described waslaunched many years ago. It has hadremarkable success in providing safewater to the people, but sanitation anddisease control are still lagging behind,confirming that safe water alone haslittle or no influence on health.

the ground, ponds, or water courses,which leave faecal matter exposed topeople, especially children, and do-mestic animals. With the highest popu-lation density in the world, the capacityof nature to take care of the faecalmatter has long been exceeded, anddomestic animals have become carriersof disease. Diarrhoea is a silent disasterin Bangladesh, with over 300 000children dying every year - moredeaths every year than the 1991cyclone and the Gulf War put together.

WILL ONE OF the poorest countriesin the world become a leader, showingother countries how to run a successfullow-cost sanitation programme? WillBangladesh give new momentum tothe 'appropriate sanitation for all'campaign, and put improved sanitationback on the agenda for internationaldonor assistance and development aid?If it is possible in Bangladesh, then itshould also be possible in other devel-oping countries.

A sanitation revolution in Bangladesh?by Bjorn BrandbergThere is a possibility of full sanitation coveragein Bangladesh before the end of the decade. Thismay have effects on the donors' attitudes tolow-cost sanitation programmes worldwide.

Remarkable progressIn spite of its reputation as a disaster-prone country with many 'hopeless'aid programmes, remarkable things arehappening in Bangladesh. The nationalwater-supply programme is in its finalphase, and 85 per cent of families havea safe water supply within 150m,usually a borehole with a handpump.

The national immunization pro-gramme (EPI Plus) has achieved 80per cent coverage within five years.And, finally, the sanitation programmehas a growth rate of over 60 per centper year, so full coverage should beachieved within the decade. If presenttrends continue, full sanitation cover-age may even be achieved within a fewyears. The success of the sanitationprogramme has been a result of threefactors:o Advocacy A successful advocacy

programme has made sanitationcoverage a high priority on thepolitical agenda.

o Integrated approach An integratedapproach to institutional responsi-bilities has forged partnerships be-tween various institutions for pro-motion and social mobilization.

o Technologies A flexible approachto appropriate sanitation technolo-gies has made sanitary latrinesaffordable to people of all incomelevels.But the risk that people will return

to unsanitary defecation habits is seri-ous and needs to be addressed now.

The problemIn Bangladesh people have tradition-ally used 'hanging latrines', bambooor brick structures raised over either

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The volume of water that people bring to the latrine is not enough for bothwashing and flushing.

WATERLINES VOL. I I NO.4 APRIL 1993 25

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Today the coverage of sanitary latrines is 25 per cent, and it is growing hy 60 per cent per year.

The sanplat is a small sanitary platform with foot-rests and a drop-hole. Thedrop-hole has a removahle cover, with a huilt-in handle.

has been made by reducing the numberof rings from five to one, but theprincipal problems remain:o In 1992 47 per cent of the water-

seals had been broken by theirowners, because they appear to becleaner and clog less often that way.

o The volume of water that peoplebring to the latrine may be enoughfor anal and hand washing, but toolittle is left for flushing the toilet.This results in a conflict betweenwater for washing and water forflushing.

o In spite of the heavy subsidies(around 70 per cent) that drain theresources of the programme, theconstruction cost is still too high forthe majority of the rural population.

o The privatization of the ring andslab production has been seriouslyhampered by the heavy subsidy, asexpectations have become unrealis-tic.

o In spite of there being more than1000 production sites, the localtransport of rings and slabs contin-ues to be a major problem.

Manuals and moulds for sanplat latrinesare sold on a non-profit basis by:

LeS Promotions, Flo 18,S46796 Griilstorp. Sweden.Tel: +46 (0)51440058Fax: +46 (0)514 40273

Home-made sanitarylatrinesThe problems of the water-sealedlatrines have been recognized by theprogramme management, and signifi-cant improvements in the programmewere achieved when the constructionof simple pit-latrines was promoted,and when the destruction of the unsani-tary traditional hanging latrines wasencouraged. The homemade pit la-trines dispose of the faecal mattersafely, and they have been acceptedby the population as a substitute for thetraditional latrines.

A recently conducted national sur-vey of water and sanitation indicates,however, that a majority of the ownersof homemade latrines have some kindof complaint, but it is usually about thesuperstructure and not the functioningof the latrine. This is probably becausethe water-sealed latrines look more'developed' than the homemade ones.

San plat latrinesTo satisfy the need for an intermediatesolution to the latrine problem, the'sanplat' latrine will be introduced.

26 WATERLINES VaL.l I NO.4 APRIL 1993

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ing water, sanitation, and immuniza-tion services, there are good reasonsfor optimism concerning the healtheducation aspects.

Campaigns for adequate sanitationin Bangladesh are making remarkableprogress. Their success depends onthem remaining a high priority, andmaintaining both institutional co-op-eration and a flexible approach totechnology. What is possible in Bang-ladesh should be possible in otherdeveloping countries as well. Sanita-tion and hygiene education shouldreturn to the development agenda .•

BibliographyBrandberg, B., 'Rural sanitation in Bangladesh,

Report to UNICEF', Bangladesh, 1992.Dodge, C.P., 'Pathogen overload in Bangladesh'.

Paper presented at the WEDC Conferencein Nairobi, 19-23 August, 1990.

Mitra and Associates, '1992 National Survey ofStatus of Water Supply and Sanitation', drafttables.

WHO/DPHE/UNICEF, 'Study of sale and per-fonnance of the one-slab one-ring latrines',Bangladesh, 1991.

WHO, 'Users' altitudes after the one-ringone-slab latrine is filled', Bangladesh, 1992.

Bjorn Brandberg is a Sanitation Advisor withSBI Consulting International. Box 217, 530 30TUN, Sweden. Fax: +46 51080434.

Is your organisation based in Sub-Saharan Africa?Does it have an interest in one or more of the following?

~ rural water supply:> small-scale irrigation~ Ram Pump manufacture.

Contact us now if you might like to send technical staff on a four weekcourse covering the appraisal, design and installation of water supply andsmall-scale irrigation systems using Ram Pumps. Depending on the levelof interest, the course will also cover the local manufacture of suitable RamPumps.

Respond to:- Andy Smith,The Development Technology Unit, Department ot

Engineering, University Of Warwick,Coventry CV4 7ALUK.

FAX: 44 (0)203 418922 TELEX: 311904 UNIVWK G

the first two steps on the road tocontrolling diarrhoeal diseases InBangladesh. The national survey un-covered a third: hygiene education.Only when these three factors arecombined do they result in a consider-able health impact where diarrhoealdiseases are a major problem. Giventhe success already achieved in provid-

The sanplat is a small sanitary platfonndesigned to improve the hygiene andsafety of traditional pit-latrines. It isexpected to have a big market inBangladesh, as it looks more 'devel-oped' while satisfying basic sanitarystandards without the problems of thepour-flush latrines.

There are currently three privatecontractors producing the sanplats onan experimental basis.

In the mid-eighties the coverage ofsanitary latrines was only some 4 percent. Today it is over 25 per cent andgrowing by over 60 per cent per year.This is a result not only of theappropriateness of the technology, butalso of a promotion programme basedon three distinct components: advo-cacy, social mobilization, and pro-gramme communication. The divisionof the promotion programme into thesewell-defined components has made themechanisms of effective promotioneasier to understand and use.

There could be some problems insiting the latrines, as there are a largenumber of groundwater sources. Theflat land, in combination with the fineground material will, however, providean excellent filter, reasonably safe-guarding the bacterial water quality.In the longer tenn there may beproblems with the nitrification of thegroundwater, particularly in areas ofhigh population density. This possibleproblem is considered to be secondaryto the present one, where the drasticpollution of the surface claims the livesof 300 000 people every year. In thefuture drinking-water may need to becollected from protected wells.

Hygiene educationSafer water and adequate sanitation are

WATERLINES VOL. 11 NO.4 APRIL 1993 27