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The community lived experiences of sanitation in the peri-urban areas of Lusaka, Zambia
James Mwale
Vincent Kanyamuna Kanyamuna
Francis Simui
Abstract
The study is significant as it contributes to Sustainable Development Goal number 6, for which countries are expected by 2030 to achieve sanitation services for all the citizens. In response to the global vision and also in alignment with the National Water and Sanitation Policy, the government has implemented a number of sanitation interventions across the country and in Lusaka peri-urban areas. The objective of this paper was to identify stakeholders' perceived sanitation challenges in Lusaka’s peri-urban areas. The study adopted an interpretive phenomenological paradigm, anchoring on the relativist ontology, which posits that there is no single reality but rather multiple realities in the understanding of sanitation challenges. The paper was informed by the 29 participants, disaggregated as 10 males, 15 women, and 4 key informants. The data was analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis, which was used in line with Braun and Clarke's framework for thematic analysis. The study found that due to limited demand for the pit emptying services, the pit emptier’s are sometimes forced to move to other to leverage business opportunities hence they are expected to get either new operating license for that area or probably sign a new service contract; hence, this raises the cost of doing business. Moreover, the study disclosed that there are no dedicated structures to deal with sanitation, given that the community-level structures, such as the D-WASH, Water and Sanitation committees, are neither well-coordinated at the community level nor integrated into the sanitation programs. Moreover, the study uncovered that culture is embedded in sanitation and affects pit emptying services because women use pit latrines to dispose menstrual pads, hence when they fill up, the women tend to be uncomfortable to allow emptying of the toilets. The study concludes that there is a need for policymakers to consider a single operating licensing regime to ease the cost of operations for the service providers. This policy direction will improve sanitation in most of the peri-urban areas of Lusaka.
