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oai:repository.unam.edu.na:11070/38312024-05-18T22:01:38Zcom_11070_3529com_11070_3313com_11070_3305col_11070_110

Kafita, Helmut puleni 2024-05-17T06:53:17Z 2024-05-17T06:53:17Z 2024 http://hdl.handle.net/11070/3831 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of public administration The study seeks to explore whether the newly adopted Community-Led Total Sanitation can improve access to and use of latrines in the Havana informal settlement as opposed to the current model of subsidised ablution facilities. Namibia has made tremendous strides in improving sanitation, particularly in formal urban areas. However, access to better sanitation and hygiene in informal urban areas remains limited. The rapid expansion of the urban population due to rural-to-urban migration has not been matched by an increase in urban infrastructure which includes housing, water supply, sanitation, electricity as well as solid waste removal. Open-defecation is frequent in these places, and hygiene education is lacking. Like most countries in the third world, Namibia is faced with a sanitation crisis. The country has in the past adopted various methodologies to address the crisis, of which the most popular is the traditional subsidisation of ablution facilities. It has since dawned on the government that the business-as-usual approach is not yielding the much-needed results to help the country attain the sanitation component of Target 6 of the SGD. It is against this background that the Namibian Government in 2016 piloted the Community-led total sanitation approach to address the sanitation crisis and the elimination of open defecation for improved quality of life and for a healthy Namibia. The study employed a mixed-methods research approach that included both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The study's population was made up of the inhabitants of Windhoek's Havana Informal Settlement who were identified using systematic and judgmental sampling approaches. Data was collected from inhabitants of Windhoek’s Havana Informal Settlement, workers of the City of Windhoek, the Municipal Council and the Shack Dwellers Federation through interviews and questionnaires. One hundred and thirty people made up the sample. The study revealed that attempts to eliminate open defecation require a diverse strategy. Sanitation must be prioritised at a central government level with enough budgetary resources to enable a change in hygiene behaviour at a household level. The traditional subsidisation approach proves to be inadequate in the attainment of open-defecation-free communities due to a lack of financial resources and “merely” having a toilet does not guarantee its utilisation and maintenance without the proper adjustment in hygienic behaviour. To achieve a collective shift in hygiene behaviour, there is a need to strengthen community health education inside communities through information dissemination and communication en University of Namibia Sanitation Hygiene Open-defecation Open-defecation-free Informal settlements Participatory Community Interventions Exploring community-led total sanitation as a mechanism to eliminate open-defecation: A case study of Havana informal settlement in Windhoek, Namibia Thesisopen.access