Community-led total sanitation - promising antecedent to attain fully sanitized villages in Ethiopia

Strategies for sanitation and hygiene in Ethiopia in the past focused more on the provision of information with the expectation that this will elicit change. However, much has not changed in the sector both in terms of access, use and improved hygiene practices. In the Ethiopian context, a number of approaches are being implemented including Community Conversation, Community Dialogue and CommunityLed Total Sanitation (CLTS). The latter, CLTS, is characterized by participatory facilitation, community analysis and action, and no hardware subsidy. It is viewed as a primary strategy for improving usage of latrines and not only counting the physical assets. As CLTS focuses primarily on enabling communities for a collective action on issues that affect their health, it has been observed that in places where CLTS ignition has taken place such communities become receptive for the rest of the HEP packages. Therefore it is important to note that successful application of CLTS approaches would pave the way for the acceptance and uptake of the other elements of the HEP by communities.