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TitleSocial marketing for scaling up sanitation for the urban poor – a case of slum communities in Kawempe Division, Kampala City
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsKamara, IT, Sande, HT, Niwagaba, C
Pagination10 p.; 1 note; 5 refs.; 4 fig.; 1 tab.
Date Published2008-11-19
PublisherIRC
Place PublishedDelft, The Netherlands
Keywordsmarketing, social development, social marketing, social processes, uganda, uganda kampala
Abstract

The paper presents experiences of using social marketing to improve sanitation in urban slum areas toscale up improved sanitation and hygiene practices. The work is conducted by Sustainable Sanitation andWater Renewal Systems (SSWARS), a local NGO supported by WaterAid Uganda and is implemented inthree parishes in Kawempe Division (District) in Kampala City. The parishes, like other slum areas inKampala are characterized by informal settlement patterns and are highly congested. Over 1.5 millionpeople, constituting about 60% of Kampala City are living in slums. Improper sanitation and hygienepractices are the manifest features in these communities as most households do not have latrines andhand washing facilities. In a study conducted by Action aid , close to 80% of slum dwellers in Kampalalack access to toilets. The incidence and prevalence of diarrhea, cholera and other infectious diseasesaccruing from poor sanitation and hygiene practices are the main epidemics in these areas with most riskburden being on children, pregnant women and the elderly people. SSWARS adopted sanitation socialmarketing techniques which consider sanitation as a social good and uses commercial marketingprinciples of product, price, promotion and place to promote sanitation and lure communities to activelyengage in improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Formative research studies and needs assessmentsare conducted in communities from which a variety of latrine options suiting different sites andaffordability conditions are developed and piloted, and Information, Education and Communications(IEC) materials are used to reach out to many people. An accessible supply chain was established usingtrained community masons and a community sanitation center (sani-center) where toilet option models,information and other resources on sanitation are accessed. A community sanitation revolving fundscheme was established, in which the poor people access funds strictly for constructing latrines, and payback in monthly installments (over a period of three to six months) to enable access by other communitymembers hence scaling-up the sanitation coverage. Communities were trained in waste recycling. Theseare consequently contributing to scaling-up sanitation, health improvement and poverty alleviation inthese areas.

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