Beyond participation : locally based demand for environmental health in peri-urban areas

This paper describes strategies to improve environmental health interventions in peri-urban areas. The strategies discussed in this report can lower government and donor costs, increase health impact, and contribute to improved governance in peri-urban communities. A concept called "locally based demand", or LBD, is used to understand the behaviour of communities and households in relation to environmental health conditions. The techniques described in this paper include providing skills for local NGO leaders and staff of municipal service agencies to work together, thereby tapping the skills, knowledge, and interests of the communities themselves. The report begins by describing the shortcomings of traditional supply-driven approaches in environmental health and the move towards more participatory initiatives. In Chapter 2, several terms and concepts which are useful for understanding LBD approaches to peri-urban environmental health are defined. Chapter 3 draws on particular examples to describe the approach in detail, while Chapter 4 identifies and discusses practical considerations for implementing these approaches. Some concluding remarks are given in Chapter 5.