Methodology and findingsWorking together with well-organized,motivated refugee CHSs, the field-workers mapped out every latrine and

Preparing the groundNumerical records were kept of eachsite on a weekly basis, showing thenumbers of latrines being built andthose needing to be built Once thetechnical and logistical side of thelatrine construction was at a certainstage - building materials in place.holes being dug. slab productionunderway etc. - the programme wasreviewed.

To supplement these statistics, healthstaff developed a mapping tool to mon-itor the on-going status of the latrineprogramme in a physical layout of eachsite.

A simple symbol was designed torepresent each component of a pitlatrine's construction (see Figure I).When the symbols were combined, itwas possible to pinpoint exactly whereeach family lived, and how far theyhad progressed in building their latrine.

constructed in a 'corridor' - an areabetween two rows of houses.

A latrine with the ideal mapping description: fenced and finished.

Provision of latrines inrefugee sitesOver the past few years, Oxfam, work-ing in partnership with UNHCR, hasbeen responsible for providing sanita-tion facilities within six refugee sites insouth-eastern Guinea, for people flee-ing the continuing civil war across theborder in Sierra Leone. The construc-tion of family latrines was overseen byrefugee Community Health Supervi-sors (CHSs), and was a major longer-term component of adequate sanitationprovision.

Each latrine unit was shared by twofamilies. Next to the latrine, under thesame roof and with a dividing wall,was a shower area. The latrine was

made up of a 3 metre-deephole, a reinforced concreteslab with a cement cover, awooden superstructure withgrass fencing anda zinc roof. Latrines were

Slab broken: slab broken duringtransportation/dangerous; needs replacing

Hole less /ban3m (too shallow)

House: house/household

Slab by road: slab close by, needs carrying

ILitrirle comple/ed, no fencing: slab installed,superstructure up, ruuf in place - no fence. Thelength uf time latrine left like this was calculated indays (7), weeks (52), and months (12)

Hole dug: right depth - awaiting slab

Rock)': impossible to dig down 3m - relocate latrine

Slab: slab next to hole, ready for installation

Slab ins/al/ed: slab fitted over hole, ready forsuperstructure construction

ILI/rine comple/ed: fenced and finished

Wooden: cumpletedlatrine, but wooden slabneeds replacing by eemeIll slah

Vulnerable: people within household who will, ormay, have difficulty in constructing/completinglatrine, for example; older people, people withlearning or physical disabilities, female·headedhouseholds with no male assistance.

Figure 1. Key to mappingsymbols used inOxfam/UNHCR campsHole not started: area marked out by CBS but nodigging

•TYT

lZl

--...,-

®

o•®D[Q]

THE PROVISION AND maintenanceof adequate sanitation is often the mostneglected aspect of the personal envi-ronment, and this is especially true inemergency/relief situations. Quotationsfrom recent issues of Waterlines exem-plify this: 'lack of safe water and inad-equate sanitation are the main causesof cholera epidemics', I and 'Over threemillion children still die of intestinalinfections in developing countries eachyear; one third of the world's popula-tion is stilI infected with parasiticworms'.2 Consequently, as Dick deJong stated in the January 1996 issue,'one of our major challenges is to findways of creating the same demand forimproved sanitation as for improvedwater supply.3

Map of a small world - developing alatrine-programme monitoring tool inGuineaby Jill McLarenSanitation programmes must be reviewed if theyare not going to stagnate. Finding out who hasaccess to, and how far people have got in theconstruction of, latrines has immediate benefitsfor both staff and camp inhabitants.

WATERLINES VOL. 15 NO.1 JULY 1996 2\

@

o 0{) {)

{) {)o {]{} {]{) {)

°0°Q M~rket

Tree(s)

Water point

road

Main®

o

•

•l'T

••

•oa{}0{} 0O¥ {}{} {}

{) 0-00{) {}

o {}

•liif

•

••

0- {){] {)(] {)Q tl{] 0() {}OQO{] (}{] {]

•

•

•~

o

Latrine corridor

11 • 0

e{} 0{} 0-

,WI

•

•-.••

Latrine corridor

{] [Q] ()

{) .O{}"

r1I0~Oo {)o 0

121

o 0

Cause to celebrate - Famoliali'sfirst pit latrine with structure.resource needs

• makes possible and encouragesrefugees' ongoing involvement;

• refugee committees, communityleaders and agencies have a visualrecord of the status of theprogramme;

• CHSs and other health and sanitationworkers can target their activities andmonitor the programme regularly;

• (probably) enhances workers' visibil-ity and credibility; and

• users can get advice from individualhealthworkers.

References1. Hueb, l.A., Waterlines, Vol. 12, No.4.2. Almedom, A. and Curtis, Y., Waterlines, Yol.13, No.3.3. De long, D., Waterlines, Yol. 14, No.3.

Jill McLaren RGN is a Public Health Nurseworking in Rwanda on a water and sanitationproject run by the Illtemational Red Cross. Shecan be contacted c/o Dr D.S. McLaren. 12Offington Avenue. Worthing, West Sussex BNl49PE, UK. Fax: +44 1903 206 770.

is more popular -by identifying howlong a structure hadbeen up but notfenced, the CHScould folJow upany problems withthe householdsinvolved.The mapping toolprovides both anoverview of thelatrine programme,as well as adetailed look at theneeds and status ofindividual families.• it helps agencystaff to monitor

the fill-up time, and also createdmaintenance and cleaning problems;

• the presence of broken or woodenslabs; and

• a fenced latrine

Mapping: Some practical tipsIU a pen il so that mistake can be corr~ t d. ninitial mapping will provide ba "eline infomlatlonwhich tieldworkers can update

LJ ,th mapping t I pr vide. 'bird' eye view'. iti: important. while on lh gr und, t take intoa count the orientation of each hou, e and latrine,particularly if th re are no latrine corridor rr giment d row,

, Large camp Or village can be divided into 'sec-tion .. by u~ing. f r e ample, w ter poin~, path, andmarket-place < border', erial ph mgraph. areuseful planning t Is

C1 Ficldworkers should be known I th communitiesWh re pas ible, one worker ,'hould ob erve whileanother r c rds the data

Figure 2. An example of a completed mapping survey of a refugee camp; illustrating both positioning and status of latrines.house on each of the six refugee sites; If .,talked to refugee committees and theirleaders; then, armed with paper andpencil, they toured the sites, section bysection.

The mapping survey, illustrated inFigure 2, provided the health teamwith technical information about var-ious stages of latrine construction.For example:• number and location of completed

latrines (including fenced andunfenced) serving two families;

• number and location of latrines as yetunfenced;

• number and location of Jess-ablepeople who possessed completedlatrines, or who had no access tla latrine (hole not started or tooshallow;

• rocky area;• people without a latrine or with an

incomplete latrine often used theirneighbours' latrine. This decreased

22 WATERLINES VOL. 15 NO.1 JULY 1996