Project Lead(s): Francis Awasighe
Issue
An estimated 85% of urban slum residents in Nigeria lack access to basic sanitation.
Kuje, a densely populated urban slum in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria is the scene of indiscriminate open dumping of human waste on fields, drainage, water bodies and markets.
An estimated 75% of morbidity in children under five years of age has been attributed to malaria, cholera and diarrhea in the area.
Solution
The project team developed a communal waterless toilet and focused on the management of poor sanitation challenges, resulting from indiscriminate disposal of feces, using a community-oriented, culturally acceptable and appropriate approach.
The project was implemented in Kuje market, Abuja, where use of the waterless toilet was combined with the conversion of fecal matter and urine to compost manure.
The project included advocacy, and a needs assessment on the knowledge, attitudes and use of waterless toilets, as a strategy for managing fecal waste in Kuje. A user-friendly guide, posters and educational flyers were also developed.
Other features of the project included training operators on the use of the waterless toilet and conducting an impact evaluation of the success and/or challenges in managing fecal matter in urban slums.
The project represents the first testing of a community-level waterless toilet in Nigeria.
The toilet has eight compartments (four for men and four for women) with sawdust or ash produced within the community used to enrich the fecal manure in the toilet tank.
It is designed to be used with very little water for cleansing, for those who are culturally or religiously sensitive, and the water is diverted from the main tank for separate collection.
Urine is collected and supplied to farmers, who form a significant stakeholder’s group in the market and who use it as fertilizer.
There is also a menstrual pad disposal facility with an incinerator incorporated.
Users pay a very small fee to use the facility.
Outcome
The results showed an improvement in sanitation behaviour at the market, due to use of the community-based waterless toilet.
The toilet has been accessed by 70–75 users daily, with a concomitant improvement in hand washing and hygienic disposal of menstrual pads.
The project team has worked with local key stakeholders and held an inauguration at the project inception, which was pivotal to its success.
Outreach has been conducted with farmers and the team has worked with the farmers’ association on the collection, packaging and sales of fecal and urine by-product fertilizers from the complex.
There are plans to apply for Phase II Transition To Scale funding, to enable scaling up to six additional major markets spread across the Federal Capital Territory.