Effectiveness of eco-toilets’ management in public places, case of Kigali city : paper presented at the East Africa practioners workshop on pro-po...

Kigali is the Capital of Rwanda with a population of 900,000 and square meter of 750 km2. It is located at the center of country and characterized by hills and rivers including Nyabugogo and Nyabarango in the south. The city is built in hilly country, sprawling across about four ridges and the valleys in between. It is a growing city and has a high rate of economic growth as well as extensive building construction. Lack of enough and adequate sanitation in the city as well as lack of proper technology of human excreta disposal is a crucial challenge in sanitation. Even if Kigali is characterized by green hills, sanitation remains the crucial problem for the entire city.
According to UNICEF & WHO (2010) only 50% of the population has access to improved sanitation in urban areas of Rwanda. As Kigali city is growing day by day, sanitation becomes a challenge and it is not easy to find a public toilet facility in less than a mile. Rwanda Environment Care took the initiative to build public toilets in order to help the local authority in improving hygiene and sanitation within the
city. Rwanda Environment Care came with new ideas and innovation in water and sanitation including the introduction of ecological toilets in the year 2006. [authors abstract]

This three-day workshop aims to identify proven good practices in the sanitation and hygiene sector, as well as drawing lessons from failures to enter into the policy dialogue. It focuses on urban sanitation with an emphasis on learning and innovation in the sector. It was organised by : UNICEF, GTZ, WSSCC, WaterAid and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, and hosted by the Rwandan Ministry of Health.