Financing On-Site Sanitation
Annex D Mozambique case study
D.2.2 Initiatives to increase coverage
In peri-urban areas, the major initiative to increase coverage was the National Low-Cost Sanitation Program (Programa Nacional Saneamento Baixo Custo, PNSBC), which has been in existence in different forms since its creation in 1985. This program, which was later renamed the Improved Latrines Program (Programa de Latrinas Melhoradas, PLM) is the subject of this case study and is reviewed in more detail in Section D.3. D.2.3 Access to sanitation
Urban coverage. The coverage through sewer networks in Mozambique is very low and will continue to be low despite significant planned investment, benefiting the residents of the central fully urbanized areas of some cities. Only two wastewater treatment plants exist in the country, one in Maputo and one in the model town of Songo that serves the Cabora Bassa dam. In 2006, urban sanitation coverage (including peri-urban areas) was estimated as shown in Table D.1 below. The number of people served by an improved latrine corresponds roughly to the number of improved latrines built under the PLM throughout the various stages of the program, which means that the PLM made a key contribution to improving access to improved sanitation throughout the country.7 Coverage is substantially higher in the capital city, Maputo. A comprehensive household survey carried out by the Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) project
in 2008 in some peri-urban areas of Maputo indicated 82% coverage by improved sanitation (38% of the population had septic tanks, 43% had improved latrines and 1% had ecosan latrines, while 16% had traditional latrines and only 2% no excreta disposal facility at all). Adequate sanitation coverage is higher in the 23 larger cities (48% of a total of about 5.5 million people) than in the 68 small towns (14.4% of about one million people). These small towns were included in the urban context for water and sanitation in 2006 only. Rural coverage. Rural coverage lags considerably behind urban coverage, even if towns are included in the definition of rural (see Table D.2 below). Depending on whether unimproved or traditional latrines (without a concrete slab) are included in the coverage numbers, the actual coverage (with an improved traditional latrine) can vary from 2% to 36%. TABLE D.2 RURAL SANITATION COVERAGE IN MOZAMBIQUE Total rural Unimproved
Improved
Septic
Year
coverage
Latrine
Latrine
Tanks
2000
28.7%
27%
1.4%
0.3%
2002
33.3%
31.2%
1.8%
0.3%
Source: National Statistics Institute (INE). Note:Statistics include coverage in the 68 towns, still defined as rural at the time.
TABLE D.1. URBAN SANITATION COVERAGE, 2006 Coverage (%)
Population
44%
2,860,000
Public sewer network
4%
260,000
Septic tank
11%
715,000
Improved latrine
29%
1,885,000
56%
3,640,000
Traditional latrine
about 40%
~2,600,000
Other or none
about 16%
~1,040,000
100%
6,500,000
Served by adequate sanitation of which
No adequate sanitation of which Total Sources: National Directorate of Water; sewerage data from individual towns
7 The private construction sector provides other types of sanitation solutions, including cesspits and pour-flush toilets, which are targeted at the better-off segment of the population.
www.wsp.org
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