Expanding Coverage and Promoting Sustainability of WASH Infrastructure and Hygiene Investments in Madagascar

To meet demand for access to clean water and hygienic sanitation options in a country severely lacking in both, some USAID-funded water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects in Madagascar have been exploring public-private solutions to increase access to clean water and sanitation facilities. These include newly constructed or rehabilitated fee-for-use public sanitation WASH blocks and water kiosks, provided in strategic locations in peri-urban areas with assistance from Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) and supplemental assistance from WASHplus. The facilities offer access to hygienic toilets, public showers, and in some cases clean water and laundry facilities to benefit nearby residents who do not have private latrines as well as passers-by in public places such as bus stations and markets. In a country where 54 percent of the population has no access to improved water sources and 85 percent lack hygienic sanitation, the provision of these facilities is a welcome attempt to address an urgent need. Coupled with investment in infrastructure, WASHplus also worked with WSUP to promote healthy hygiene and sanitation behaviors in urban and peri-urban households and institutions through its sanitation marketing approach and WASH-Everywhere* strategy. This brief discusses how the WASHplus and WSUP partnership in Madagascar increased sustainable access to safe water and sanitation services in ways that promoted environmental awareness, generated employment and income for communities, changed behavior, and built the management and financial capacity of local associations.