Sanitation Marketing at Scale: Experiences from Rural Benin

Sanitation Marketing April 2011 At Scale Field Note Sanitation and Hygiene Series Experiences from Rural Benin Sanitation Marketing At Scale This field note presents the Benin story and its development of a successful national sanitation marketing program adapted to the rural African context. It provides valuable learning, lessons and innovations for other African countries seeking to develop rural sanitation marketing programs that stimulate household demand at scale and harness the potential and capacity of the local informal private sector market to supply products that respond to consumer needs. 1 Summary Map of Benin Sanitation marketing is a sustainable approach to household sanitation uptake at scale. While efforts in Africa to use marketing are underway in several countries, success stories have yet to be shared. In Benin, the Directorate for Hygiene and Basic Sanitation within the Ministry of Health has championed the development and operation of a highly innovative rural sanitation marketing programme. Within the first one-and-a-half years promotion cycle under national roll-out launched in 2005, the programme has resulted in a 10 percentage point increase in improved sanitation coverage from a baseline of 6.2% across 80,000 monitored households. Besides the one in ten households in enrolled communities that has completed construction, a further 2 to 3 out of every ten households is either planning or in the process of building an improved family latrine by accessing market-supplied materials and services. While already impressive these figures likely underestimate the full impact of this marketing intervention for reasons which are explained. This field note presents the Benin story and its development of a successful national sanitation marketing program adapted to the rural African context. It provides valuable learning, lessons and innovations for other African countries seeking to develop rural sanitation marketing programs that stimulate household demand at scale and harness the potential and capacity of the local informal private sector market to supply products that respond to consumer needs. Source: CIA Factbook Introduction Sanitation marketing is an approach to local sanitation industry. In sanitation and desires (see Table 1 for a summary household sanitation promotion that marketing, there is no subsidy for of key elements). The approach is aims to create sustained and effective hardware (e.g. cement, slabs and/or potentially one of the most promising sanitation by stimulating household superstructure). It is an approach that sustainable approaches to dealing demand for sanitation products and builds upon strong understanding of with the sanitation crisis and leading services. At the same time private sector consumer motivations and preferences to the attainment of the Millennium provision of products and services is as well as constraints to latrine adoption. Development Goals for Sanitation. developed and enhanced, with both The key aim is to develop promotional activities acting together to result in and private-sector supply-chain Sanitation marketing has been the establishment of a sustainable interventions that reflect consumer needs successfully applied in Vietnam (Frias 2 Sanitation Marketing At Scale Table 1: Key precursors and elements of a successful sanitation marketing approach Create a supportive policy & Stimulate demand for Develop private sector supply Facilitate linkages between enabling environment sanitation of desirable and affordable demand and supply technologies - Include supportive language - Understand consumer - Identify and standardise a - Link consumers with service in key policy documents behaviour and drivers of range of low cost desirable providers demand technology options (r&d) - Encourage donors to - Improve flow of information promote market-based - Develop, test and deliver - Increase no. Of trained/skilled between consumers and approaches marketing messages using local providers suppliers effective communications - Encourage local-level channels - Build marketing & business - Quality assurance/product government support for capacity of local providers warrantee sanitation marketing - Mobilise community for behaviour change - Endorse/certify service - Increase value for money - Enact legislation to provide providers through increased market for necessary dedicated - Understand what household competition financing for sanitation expenditures compete with - Support extension of supply- investments in sanitation chains for construction materials and components - Educate & inform consumers about technologies Adapted from Outlaw, Jenkins, and Scott, 2007. Opportunities for Sanitation Marketing in Uganda. USAID HIP, AED, Washington, D.C. 2005) and elements of the approach construction of improved latrines in Development of the Rural Water and [behaviour change communications, no 25,000 households across 9 of 12 Sanitation Sector’). Under PADEAR, hardware subsidy, and development of departments of the country by the end of the government began testing a new the small-scale private sector to supply 2009. approach to rural sanitation promotion household sanitation] were largely utilising social marketing to motivate responsible for Lesotho’s successful Origins of sanitation marketing in Benin household demand coupled with government-led urban sanitation program Benin’s national rural sanitation marketing sanitation delivery by small-scale private which began in the 1980’s (Pearson and hygiene promotion programme sector providers (local masons) via the 2002). Benin provides the first example (hereafter referred to as the PHA from its market. of a fully developed and tested national full French title Promotion de l’hygiene rural sanitation program that adapts et de l’assainissement –translated as PADEAR (1996-1999) was a government sanitation marketing to the rural African ‘hygiene and basic sanitation promotion’) programme initiated with World Bank and development context. is operated by the Directorate for Danish funding to put into practice the Hygiene and Basic Sanitation (DHAB) new (1992) National Water Supply and This field note shares the story of the within the Ministry of Health, with Sanitation Sector Development Strategy development of Benin’s highly innovative substantial Danish, Dutch and German (NWSSSDS). The NWSSDS called for marketing-based rural sanitation donor investments. Its beginnings can demand-led, efficient and sustainable promotion program currently on track be traced to 1996 and the PADEAR water and sanitation development across to result in the subsidy-free household programme (‘Project Support to the rural Benin via four key policy principles: 3 1. Decentralisation of the decision- in order to generate local competition and used PHAST (participatory hygiene and making process to the community keep latrine prices competitive, while the sanitation transformation) approach level (allowing households to make inclusion of not just construction training were combined to develop an image- informed decisions about their water but the impartment of basic marketing based participatory communications and sanitation infrastructure) and sales techniques allowed masons to package to address essential hygiene 2. Community contribution to initial effectively find their own new customers education and awareness along with capital investment and full contribution and market their services. The availability social marketing of improved latrines to cost recovery of infrastructure, with of masons’ services was also promoted for household or compound settings. households responsible for the full through the above-mentioned social Four target behaviours were included costs of their sanitation facilities marketing communications campaign. in the communications package (this field note focuses only on the sanitation 3. Prioritisation of efforts to reduce the The PADEAR1 pilot was fully operated component): costs of technologies, both capital for about 2 years and worked particularly investment and maintenance costs 1. Building a sanitary latrine well when the social marketing messages 2. Safe hygienic transport, storage 4. Development of the national and effectively reached households in local and use of improved drinking water local private sector as primary actor areas with an active trained mason supplies responsible for supplying water and marketing his services. sanitation goods and services 3. General domestic hygiene Scaling up 4. Handwashing with soap at key times The strategy also highlighted the need for Following key lessons and successes systematic hygiene promotion in all rural from the PADEAR-supported rural Box 1 highlights the programme water supply and sanitation programmes. sanitation marketing pilot, other donors adaptation and development process. began to experiment with a market-based The PADEAR social marketing approach by initiating pilots in other communications campaign utilised Departments including, Alibori, Borgou, mass media (radio and billboards) and Mono, Oueme and Atacora. Meanwhile direct consumer contact (DCC) activities Danida, between 2000 and 2004, financed (games, competitions, give-aways) the testing of a number of adaptations to disseminate consumer-focused to improve and refine the approach. motivational messages based upon non- Improvements were designed to bring health benefits of latrines reflecting rural the promotional activities in systematic communities’ own perceptions of the direct face-to-face contact with individual

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