Impact of an intervention to improve pit latrine emptying practices in low income urban neighborhoods of Maputo, Mozambique.

Impact of an intervention to improve pit latrine emptying practices in low income urban neighborhoods of Maputo, Mozambique. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2020 Feb 18;226:113480 Authors: Capone D, Buxton H, Cumming O, Dreibelbis R, Knee J, Nalá R, Ross I, Brown J Abstract Safe fecal sludge management (FSM) - the hygienic emptying, transport, and treatment for reuse or disposal of fecal sludge - is an essential part of safely managed sanitation, especially in towns and cities in low- and middle-income countries with limited sewer coverage. The need for safe and affordable FSM services has become more acute as cities grow and densify. Hygienic pit-emptying uses equipment that limits direct human exposure with fecal sludge and hygienic transport conveys fecal sludge offsite for treatment. We evaluated whether a program of on-site sanitation infrastructure upgrades and FSM capacity development in urban Maputo, Mozambique resulted in more hygienic pit-emptying and safe transportation of fecal sludge. We compared reported emptying practices among multi-household compounds receiving sanitation upgrades with control compounds, both from the Maputo Sanitation (MapSan) trial at 24-36 months after the intervention. Intervention compounds (comprising 1-40 households, median = 3) received a subsidized pour-flush latrine to septic tank system that replaced an existing shared latrine; control compounds continued using existing shared latrines. We su...
Source: International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Int J Hyg Environ Health Source Type: research