Overcoming barriers to better sanitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Millions of people in Africa die every year from diseases related to lack of sanitation, poor hygiene and poor water quality. With attention focused on water supply in many countries, sanitation and hygiene are missing out, too often a low priority. In 2002, sanitation was incorporated along with water supply in target ten of the seventh Millennium Development Goal. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), how can better sanitation be achieved?

This research report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Tearfund, both in the UK, was based on research carried out by the Programme de Promotion des Soins de Santé Primaires en Zones de Santé Rurales (PPSSP), Tearfund’s local partner organisation in the DRC, and ODI. It examines the factors that help or hinder the development of effective sanitation and hygiene policies and programmes. The research was carried out in Beni territory, North Kivu province, and the capital, Kinshasa, in 2006.

Improving sanitation contributes to a wide range of development objectives. The DRC research focuses on the safe disposal of human excreta and safe hygiene practices (such as hand washing at critical times) – elements of basic sanitation and hygiene lacking in many poor areas in Africa.

After decades of dictatorship and conflict, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa with some of the lowest social development indicators. There is a lack of reliable information on sanitation coverage, although the best information available suggests that only one in ten Congolese have access to basic sanitation.

The post-conflict environment in the DRC presents particular challenges for the sanitation sector. Lack of state capacity, shortage of public finance and problems of poor governance all block progress. In recent years, donors have concentrated their efforts on emergency relief and humanitarian response, rather than medium-term development interventions.

The main barriers to progress include:

• No national policy document on sanitation and hygiene (at the time of the research), and a similar policy void, it seems, at provincial and territorial level (at least in North Kivu and Beni)
• lack of coordination among the different institutions that share responsibility for sanitation and hygiene
• low investment priority by the government and many donors, compared with other social sectors such as education and health (that is, in aspects other than the preventative measures required to improve hygiene conditions)
• major capacity gaps at local government level, in terms of human and other resources, resulting in very weak state provision
• lack of expressed demand for improvements in sanitation and hygiene by households and communities (although when asked, women value sanitation facilities)
• difficulty in promoting changes in behaviour (a finding not confined to the DRC).

Improving sanitation and hygiene facilities for poor households needs to be a development priority in the DRC. Despite the immense challenges, the researchers identify a number of positive elements that will contribute to the development of effective policies and implementation of programmes on the ground:

• the leadership shown by certain individuals and organisations in difficult conditions
• desire for change expressed by many actors in the sector, including state officials
• support, in principle, from some donors to reform the water supply and sanitation sectors
• existing funding commitment by three donors for sanitation and hygiene programmes.

Source(s):
‘Sanitation and Hygiene in Developing Countries: Identifying and Responding to Barriers. A Case Study from the Democratic Republic of Congo’, Report by Tearfund, Overseas Development Institute and Programme de Promotion des Soins de Santé Primaires en Zones de Santé Rurales, 2007 (PDF) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 27 April 2008

Further Information:
Peter Newborne
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 79220300
Fax: +44 (0)20 79220399
Contact the contributor: p.newborne@odi.org.uk

Overseas Development Institute, UK

Tearfund
100 Church Road
Teddington
Middlesex TW11 8QE
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 89779144
Fax: +44 (0)20 89433594
Contact the contributor: enquiry@tearfund.org

Tearfund, UK

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