Regional practitioners workshop on pro-poor urban sanitation and hygiene, Kigali

Published on: 27/03/2011

A regional practitioners' workshop on pro-poor urban sanitation and hygiene was held at LAICO Umubano on 29th-31st of March 2011. Hosted by the Ministry of Health, this event was part of a longer term regional sharing and learning process which was initiated in 2007 in Moshi (Tanzania) with the highly successful practitioners’ seminar on rural sanitation and hygiene. This new regional learning event was jointly organised and supported by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, GIZ, UNICEF, WaterAid and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC).

The rationale for this practitioners’ workshop on urban sanitation and hygiene included:

• The evidence of the contribution of sanitation and hygiene in livelihoods and development;
• The increasing recognition of the need to address sanitation and hygiene for the urban poor;
• The great institutional complexity of urban sanitation and hygiene;
• The existence of several successes in pro-poor urban sanitation and hygiene and the need to share and learn from these to promote their replication

Some of the main objectives of this regional workshop were therefore to:

• Facilitate the sharing and learning of good East African practices on sanitation and hygiene for the urban poor;
• Encourage hygiene and sanitation practitioners and planners to identify and document good practices and experiences on sanitation and hygiene for the urban poor;
•  Analyse and synthesise both positive and negative lessons learnt and propose key policy and strategy messages for politicians, policy-makers and planners;
•  Develop key strategies to address the challenges met during implementation of the resolutions of the pro-poor urban sanitation and hygiene.

This event brought together about 60 professionals working on urban sanitation and hygiene in East Africa, particularly practitioners, researchers, policy makers, people from government agencies, donors and media. It provided a space for enhancing information exchange, learning and sharing of experiences and lessons, encouraging practitioners to reflect critically on factors for improved performance and effect, and documented these lessons and practices.

The workshop promoted a high level of interaction and debate among participants. Presentation of case studies and photo essays was followed by joint analysis of success factors and hindrances, as well as the identification of key lessons, promising strategies and approaches for improving sanitation for the urban poor.

Results and recommendations from this workshop will be presented during various regional and international events such as the upcoming 3rd African Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene (AfricaSan 3, Kigali, July 2011) and the Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene (Mumbai, October 2011).