Tailoring pro-poor support strategies with local governments to improve sanitation services

In growing recognition of disparities in sanitation access there is a need for more evidence of effective approaches to ensure more equitable service provision for all. This paper shares the learning process and experiences from tailoring pro-poor support strategies in Bhutan and Cambodia in the context of wider sector discussions on financing sanitation and subsidies. In order to address disparities, formative research was conducted by SNV and local government partners to better understand what poverty means, analyse the barriers to sanitation access for poor and socially excluded groups, identify existing community solutions and subsequently develop clearer government-led strategies.

In Bhutan, traditional community mechanisms were identified and reflected at national policy level, recognising that labour shortages were a greater barrier than financial issues alone. In Cambodia, affordability of improved sanitation facilities was found to be the most significant barrier. Priorities of the poor have been integrated in commune investment plans and a targeted result-based sustainable sanitation fund is now being trialled. Through the experiences in Bhutan and Cambodia, this paper contributes insights to advance thinking on the process for developing a variety of pro-poor support mechanisms for sanitation, and the importance of recognising and working with local government in the process.