Effects of program and institutional design on district-level CLTS management in Malawi

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is a participatory method for sanitation promotion that is quickly becoming the primary approach used by developing countries to generate improvements in sanitation behaviour, resulting in open defecation free (ODF) communities. Since 2009, Engineers Without Borders Canada has worked in Malawi to provide technical assistance on CLTS to 12 districts. EWB has gathered evidence that the management behaviour of the district is a key indicator of whether CLTS implementation will achieve ODF sustainability in Malawi. Program designers such as national governments and major donors can encourage good management by creating incentives and systems for project implementation that encourage these behaviours in districts. Furthermore, program designers should recognize that a lack these incentives and systems discourages good management in districts, and that effective CLTS implementation cannot happen without good management behaviours.