scholarly journals Getting a foot on the sanitation ladder: user satisfaction and willingness to pay for improved public toilets in Accra, Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 528-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Mariwah ◽  
Kate Hampshire ◽  
Constance Owusu-Antwi

Rapid urban growth in developing countries has led to an increase in unplanned, high-density settlements dependent on public toilets for sanitation, yet we know relatively little about users' perceptions and concerns about such facilities. This paper seeks to explore user satisfaction and willingness to pay for improved sanitation services in Accra. Utilising a questionnaire, data were gathered from 245 users of public toilets in two low-income communities of Accra. 80.8% of users expressed overall dissatisfaction with the public toilets, the main areas of concern being: long queues and waiting times, unpleasant smells, dirtiness, concerns about security and lack of running water and soap. The majority of the respondents said that they would be willing to pay higher fees for improved services. Operators should take note of this and explore the potential market for building and maintaining high-quality public toilet facilities as a means to ending open defecation and getting on the first step on the sanitation ladder.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Chunga ◽  
M. W. Jenkins ◽  
Jeroen Ensink ◽  
Joe Brown

Abstract We carried out a stated preference survey in Malawi to examine whether access to microfinance for sanitation would significantly increase the proportion of households upgrading to improved pit latrines or alternative improved sanitation technologies (urine diverting dry toilet, fossa alterna, pour flush). We presented a range of sanitation options at local market prices, initially without and then with a real microfinance option, to 1,300 households sampled across 27 low-income urban settlements in the two largest cities, Lilongwe and Blantyre. When we gave respondents a microfinance option, the proportion of households stating an intention to install improved and unimproved pit latrines decreased significantly, while the proportion stating an intention to upgrade to alternative improved sanitation technologies increased significantly. However, households in the lowest wealth quintile were more likely to state a preference for unimproved pit latrines, suggesting that the benefits of microfinance for sanitation may not accrue equally across wealth strata. Organisations seeking to improve access to safely managed sanitation by promoting alternative sanitation technologies would succeed if households have access to affordable alternative sanitation technologies and microfinance for sanitation. However, poorer households would need more affordable improved sanitation technologies, flexible microfinance options and possibly targeted subsidies to gain access to safely managed sanitation.


Author(s):  
Zachary Burt ◽  
Rachel Sklar ◽  
Ashley Murray

Kigali, Rwanda lacks a centralized sewer system, which leaves residents to choose between on-site options; the majority of residents in informal settlements use pit latrines as their primary form of sanitation. When their pits fill, the pits are either sealed, or emptied; emptying is often done by hand and then dumped in the environment, putting the residents and the broader population at risk of infectious disease outbreaks. In this paper, we used revealed and stated preference models to: (1) estimate the demand curve for improved emptying services; and, (2) evaluate household preferences and the willingness to pay (WTP) for different attributes of improved emptying services. We also quantify the costs of improved service delivery at different scales of production. The study included 1167 households from Kigali, Rwanda across 30 geographic clusters. Our results show that, at a price of US$79 per pit, 15% of all the pits would be emptied by improved emptying services, roughly the current rate of manual emptying. Grouping empties by neighborhood and ensuring that each truck services an average of four households per day could reduce the production costs to US$44 per empty, ensuring full cost coverage at that price. At a lower price of US$24, we estimate that the sealing of pits might be fully eliminated, with full coverage of improved emptying services for all pits; this would require a relatively small subsidy of US$20 per empty. Our results show that households had strong preferences for fecal sludge (FS) treatment, formalized services (which include worker protections), and distant disposal. The results from the study indicate a few key policies and operational strategies that can be used for maximizing the inclusion of low-income households in safely managed sanitation services, while also incorporating household preferences and participation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 160-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charisma Acey ◽  
Joyce Kisiangani ◽  
Patrick Ronoh ◽  
Caroline Delaire ◽  
Evelyn Makena ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 718-729
Author(s):  
Priyam Das ◽  
Julia Crowley

Abstract At the deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 2.1 billion (109) people had gained access to improved sanitation and 95 countries were able to meet the MDG sanitation target. However, 2.4 billion still lacked improved sanitation facilities. India is among those countries where open defecation stubbornly persists. Despite decades of government spending on the construction of toilets, and the recent Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to eradicate open defecation, toilet use remains a challenge. To draw attention to the deep deficits in sanitation services in smaller Indian cities, we explore what motivates sanitation uptake by the urban poor. Household survey data from 13 low-income settlements combined with interviews, focus-group discussions, and transect walks in three cities in central India allowed us to examine factors that influenced resource-constrained households' toilet ownership and toilet use versus open defecation. Our findings indicate that in urban settings, toilet ownership could, in fact, deter open defecation given the presence of other key conditions. Programs to build toilets under the SBM could, therefore, see favorable outcomes in cities provided there is a broadening of access to sanitation to include fecal sludge management. Our findings also underscore the importance of coproducing basic services.


Author(s):  
Froggi VanRiper ◽  
Kory C. Russel ◽  
Daniel Tillias ◽  
Jessica Laporte ◽  
Erica Lloyd ◽  
...  

Abstract A primary goal of the WASH sector is to facilitate transitions from open defecation to improved sanitation. Many residents of low-income countries desire improved sanitation but lack the resources to obtain or maintain access to toilets. For such persons, describing the goal as ‘behavior change’ implies a deficiency in mindset, failing to capture contextual factors affecting sanitation access. Furthermore, household circumstances affect movement both up and down the sanitation ladder, a phenomenon that the sector tends to overlook. This study, based on interviews with 308 former subscribers to Haitian container-based-sanitation service EkoLakay, tracks household sanitation access at four points in time: prior to subscribing, during the subscription period, immediately upon unsubscribing, and at the time of interview. We describe this movement through time as the ‘sanitation arc’. Prior to subscribing, households were more likely to practice open defecation or rely on non-household sanitation, and less likely to have private improved sanitation than the average urban Haitian. This distribution is reversed among former subscribers. Nearly half of former subscribers, however, could not afford continuous access to EkoLakay; 80% of involuntary terminations resulted in loss of access to private improved sanitation, and over one-third of these households reverted to open defecation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Jenkins ◽  
O. Cumming ◽  
B. Scott ◽  
S. Cairncross

This study assessed sanitation access in rapidly expanding informal settlements in Dar es Salaam (Dar) against eight proposed indicators of hygienic safety, sustainability and functionality, and in relation to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) ‘improved’ sanitation definition. Information was collected on toilet facility designs, management and functionality through a structured interview and observations at 662 randomly selected residential properties across 35 unplanned, low-income sub-wards of Dar. Trends in access and associations with sharing, occupancy, latrine replacement, income, education and location factors were considered through statistical analyses. Surveyed sub-wards were open-defecation free. While 56% of households used a facility that met the MDG improved technology definition, only 8% had a functional facility that could be considered as hygienically safe and sustainable sanitation. Safe, sustainable, functioning sanitation access was 2.6 times greater among the richest quintile than the two poorest quintiles. Very poor sanitation services among Dar's urban poor arise from widespread lack of access to hygienically safe pit emptying services, unhygienic designs and functionality problems (affecting 67, 55 and 29%, respectively). As new goals and targets beyond 2015 are discussed, these findings may have important implications for defining what constitutes ‘improved’ sanitation for poor populations living in unplanned informal settlements.


Author(s):  
Rachel Peletz ◽  
Caroline Delaire ◽  
Joan Kones ◽  
Clara MacLeod ◽  
Edinah Samuel ◽  
...  

Unsafe sanitation is an increasing public health concern for rapidly expanding cities in low-income countries. Understanding household demand for improved sanitation infrastructure is critical for planning effective sanitation investments. In this study, we compared the stated and revealed willingness to pay (WTP) for high-quality, pour-flush latrines among households in low-income areas in the city of Nakuru, Kenya. We found that stated WTP for high-quality, pour-flush latrines was much lower than market prices: less than 5% of households were willing to pay the full costs, which we estimated between 87,100–82,900 Kenyan Shillings (KES), or 871–829 USD. In addition, we found large discrepancies between stated and revealed WTP. For example, 90% of households stated that they would be willing to pay a discounted amount of 10,000 KES (100 USD) for a high-quality, pour-flush latrine, but only 10% of households redeemed vouchers at this price point (paid via six installment payments). Households reported that financial constraints (i.e., lack of cash, other spending priorities) were the main barriers to voucher redemption, even at highly discounted prices. Our results emphasize the importance of financial interventions that address the sizable gaps between the costs of sanitation products and customer demand among low-income populations.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3432
Author(s):  
McKenzie Thomas ◽  
Kimberly L. Jensen ◽  
Dayton M. Lambert ◽  
Burton C. English ◽  
Christopher D. Clark ◽  
...  

Biochar is a co-product of advanced biofuels production from feedstocks including food, agricultural, wood wastes, or dedicated energy crops. Markets for soil amendments using biochar are emerging, but little is known about consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for these products or the depth of the products’ market potential for this product. This research provides WTP estimates for potting mix amended with 25% biochar, conditioned on consumer demographics and attitudes about product information labeling. Data were collected with an online survey of 577 Tennessee home gardeners. WTP was elicited through a referendum contingent valuation. Consumer WTP for an 8.81 L bag of 25% biochar potting mix is $8.52; a premium of $3.53 over conventional potting mix. Demographics and attitudes toward biofuels and the environment influence WTP. Biochar amounts demanded are projected for the study area’s potential market. Optimal prices, profits, and market shares are estimated across different marginal costs of producing biochar potting mix.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-59
Author(s):  
Anom Dwi Prakoso

  Background: The Indonesian Government's target of Universal Coverage or 100% Health Insurance participation by 2019 failed to be achieved, even until the end of October 2020. The failure of universal coverage resulted in BPJS Health's finances getting worse after experiencing a deficit. Informal sector workers are the most dominant sector that has not participated in the Health Insurance scheme, totaling 30,487,891 workers. Low income, uncertainty each month, and the increase in contributions resulted in a decrease in Willingness to pay Health Insurance contributions. Research purposes: The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of income, knowledge, and disease susceptibility to the willingness to pay (WTP) of health insurance contributions to informal sector workers. Method: This cross-sectional research was conducted in Kudus Regency, Central Java in January-February 2020. Sampling used purposive sampling with a total of 200 informal sector workers who had not yet participated in BPJS Kesehatan. The dependent variable is a willingness to pay. The independent variables are income, knowledge, and disease susceptibility. Data collection using a questionnaire and data analysis with logistic regression. Result: Willingness To Pay health insurance contributions for informal sector workers increased in income ≥Rp 2,218,451 (b = 2.02; 95% CI = 1.01-3.55; p = 0.044), high knowledge (b = 4.64; 95% CI = 2.36-8.31; p <0.001), high disease susceptibility (b = 3.01; 95% CI = 0.26-5.75; p = 0.031). Conclusion: Income, knowledge, and disease vulnerability have a significant effect on the willingness to pay for health insurance contributions for informal sector workers.   Keywords: Universal Health Coverage; Willingness To Pay; Health Insurance; informal sector workers.


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