UNICEF, in partnership with the Oniipa Town Council and LIXIL/SATO, has begun rolling out basic sanitation facilities targeting households without improved sanitation infrastructure.
The initiative is replacing concrete toilet pots with a climate-resilient option which is hygienic and easy to clean using low cost.

The team was on the ground at the Okakwiyu location in the Oniipa Town Council, installing sanitation systems.
The initiative comes as Namibia continues to face a significant sanitation crisis, with more than 20 per cent of the urban population, particularly in informal settlements, either practising open defecation or relying on unimproved sanitation facilities. 

According to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Specialist at UNICEF Namibia Mathew Shuuya, more than 500 households in Oniipa town are expected to benefit from the rollout programme.

“UNICEF has supported the government with demand creation in terms of sanitation, but then what the gap was when communities were sensitised to the benefits of having access to sanitation. They found it very difficult to find products in the market that were suitable and that were also affordable to the low-income groups. LIXIL then came in by designing these low-cost, durable and climate-resilient toilet options.”

Skills and knowledge are passed on to local artisans who are now experts at installing the new toilet pots on any surface of any existing pit latrine.

Leader of SATO Kenya and South Africa Cluster, Alex Njagi, says, “What they have is not very comfortable, and it does not look very hygienic, so there is also an unpleasant smell coming from down there, and you can see insects and flies coming in and out, so we want to improve this to give it a new transformation, something more hygienic and safe to use, easy to clean, and something that is durable to use.”

More than 3,000 households in Windhoek are also set to benefit from the initiative.