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Making more health with decent pit toilets

A 14-month initiative to build 20 eco-friendly pit toilets and train 100 people on hygiene and sanitation to improve health in Bamenda.

Municipality

CM
Bamenda 3 subdivision, Mezam,

Category / Sub-Category / Topic

Public services, Urban Hygiene

Type of investment needed

Grant

Associated SDGs

The challenge

More than 594,000 people in Bamenda 3 lack access to safe and decent toilet facilities, contributing to increased cases of feces-related diseases, as reported by Nkwen District Hospital in 2022 and 2023.

The project

“Making more health with decent pit toilets” is a 14 months-long initiative that seeks to solve the problem of unsafe pit toilets in the city of Bamenda. Our proposal involves introducing pit toilets that will be dug 15 meters deep, 2.5m long and 80cm wide and be used with compostable toilet tissue in order to address the following two major current challenges:

  (i) reducing the life of the toilets due to the use of various forms of solid non-compostable materials as toilet tissue. This fills up the pit toilet quite quickly and is far less environmentally-friendly than using compostable materials

  (ii) the use of water as a substitute for toilet tissue, which aggravates the water shortage in Bamenda3

We intend to reach our goal through the construction of 20 low-cost but durable pit toilets conforming to the above-mentioned specifications at institutions including primary and secondary schools as well as frequented public spaces, these being the places most affected by the toilet crisis according to our observations. We will also set up three intensive training workshops to empower 100 persons, with 5 being selected from each of the twenty ear-marked beneficiary communities, on the public health dangers associated with poor public hygiene and sanitation malpractices. They will learn about the best practices to adopt and implement.

In the first four months of the year, the first six toilets will be constructed and hygiene and sanitation supplies provided to the first six communities. This will be followed by a three day intensive training program aimed at educating the 30 selected community representatives on good hygiene and sanitation practices. After handing over facilities to the beneficiaries, there shall be close monitoring of and follow up with the trained personnel in order to ensure success during the implementation phase. Construction of the next set of pit toilets will then commence in earnest within the next four months of the year, followed by the corresponding training of the next cohort of personnel. The process will then be repeated to complete the last phase of the project. The last two months of the 14-month period will involve evaluation of the entire project and determining if reinforcement efforts are required in relation to any aspect of the project.

Know more...

Being an important metropolis and the third largest city in Cameroon, ensuring the availability of enough safe, decent toilet facilities in Bamenda 3 is imperative for the wellbeing of the city’s inhabitants, whose number stands at more than 594,000 according to the most recent official government census dating to 2023. Poorly designed toilet pits built with low-quality materials represent a health and safety hazard to their users. The situation is particularly urgent in Bamenda 3 as many households cannot afford flush toilets, which are more modern and user-friendly, safer, and easier to keep clean, but are more expensive than pit toilets and simply out of reach financially for many people in Bamenda. It is also worth stressing that Bamenda 3 periodically receives waves of thousands of internally displaced persons fleeing armed conflict and civil unrest from other parts of Cameroon, thus putting a strain on already scarce resources in Bamenda.

The challenging socio-economic context in Bamenda is compounded by apparent inaction on the part of the government to ensure the availability of enough safe, decent pit toilets in Bamenda. The city council in Bamenda has not prioritized this urgent problem and has done very little to respond to the cries of the citizens, notwithstanding the clear public health dangers associated with the high prevalence of unhygienic, structurally weak and poorly designed pit toilets in Bamenda 3, both in private and public spaces. Notably, these toilets have given rise to a host of other, related problems, including toilet sanitation malpractices, open defecation around homes, schools, hospitals, public squares and even in running streams and rivers whose waters are used by others downstream for cooking, washing and even drinking.

As a consequence, research conducted by the Nkwen District Hospital in 2022 and 2023 indicated that several persons were tested positive for feces-related diseases and other diseases connected to water pollution and food poisoning, with several deaths recorded. Factors that have aggravated the situation include, amongst others, poverty (which constitutes a barrier for many families to construct decent toilets), the absence of feces suction tankers to empty very full pit toilets (which sometimes leads to fecal material overflowing into roads, crop fields and running streams), poor enforcement and implementation of land use and construction regulations by the Bamenda 3 city council authorities, and lastly a lack of knowledge among the public regarding the serious public health dangers associated with pit toilets with structural defects, bad hygiene and poor sanitation practices.

  • Construction of improved latrines: Construction of 20 durable and low-cost pit toilets with specifications of 15 meters deep, 2.5 meters long, and 80 cm wide. These latrines will be located in primary and secondary schools, as well as in heavily frequented public spaces.
  • Supply of hygiene materials: Provision of hygiene and sanitation materials to the first six beneficiary communities along with the installation of the initial latrines.
  • Community training: Conducting 3 intensive training workshops to train 100 people (5 representatives from each of the 20 beneficiary communities). Topics include health hazards of poor sanitation and proper hygiene and latrine maintenance practices.
  • Monitoring and support: Close follow-up with the trained community representatives during the implementation phase to ensure proper management and sustainability of the latrines.
  • Final evaluation: Comprehensive evaluation of the project to identify needs for reinforcement or adjustments.

Resultados directos

  • Construction of 20 durable and low-cost pit toilets  
  • Provision of hygiene and sanitation materials for six latrines 
  • 3 intensive training workshops to train 100 people (5 representatives from each of the 20 beneficiary communities).  

Impacto esperado

  • To achieve a more than 90 percent reduction within 10 years in the number of pit toilets that are not fit for purpose in Bamenda, and which thus represent health and safety hazards to the city’s residents.
  • Bamenda City Council
  • Service of Hygiene and Sanitation of Bamenda Medicalized Health District
  • Provincial Ministry of Environment and Protection of Nature.
  • RUFUS TENSAH FUMBU: Agricultural engineer, Co-Founder/CEO of G4-CoWA, rftensah@gmail.com
  • MEME VICTORINE AVO: Agricultural engineer, Co-Founder/ Secretary General of G4-CoWA, victorinetensah@gmail.com
  • ENWE DEREK ABI: Health Consultant, Bamenda 3 District Hospital, abiderick881@gmail.com
  • TATA NICASIUS: Building Construction Consultant,G4-CoWA, tatasius@yahoo.com
  • CHOFOR EMMANUEL: Health Consultant, Bamenda 3 District Hospital, emmanuelchofor@gmail.com

Investment

(*): In kind/pro bonus

(**): Financing

Goods and inputs
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Insumos y materiales para la construcción de 20 letrinas (*) (**)

u$s 80000.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 80000.00

Papelería (*) (**)

u$s 205.20

u$s 0.00

u$s 205.20

Impresión de manuales de capacitación con eslóganes e ilustraciones sobre el uso de letrinas (*) (**)

u$s 849.90

u$s 0.00

u$s 849.90

Insumos de higiene y saneamiento para demostraciones prácticas (*) (**)

u$s 395.10

u$s 0.00

u$s 395.10

Services
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Construcción de 20 letrinas (*) (**)

u$s 20000.00

u$s 8333.30

u$s 11666.70

Alimentación (desayuno, pausa para café y almuerzo) (*) (**)

u$s 2250.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 2250.00

Alquiler de salón (*) (**)

u$s 1250.10

u$s 0.00

u$s 1250.10

Human resources
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Capacitadores expertos en manejo de letrinas, higiene y saneamiento (*) (**)

u$s 1800.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 1800.00

Estipendio para 6 personas - equipo de ejecución del proyecto (*) (**)

u$s 39436.06

u$s 0.00

u$s 39436.06

Others
Funds
Needed
Covered
Solicited

Estipendio para transporte de los participantes por 2 días (*) (**)

u$s 8250.00

u$s 0.00

u$s 8250.00

TOTAL AMOUNTS:

u$s 154436.36

u$s 8333.30

u$s 146103.06

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