Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 37

Publications
was conducted using results from a cross-sectional study
of 1000 households in five rural districts of Tanzania.
Motivating factors, perceptions, and constraints
surrounding open defecation and latrine adoption were
assessed using behavioral change theory.
Results showed a significant association between use
of improved sanitation and satisfaction with current
sanitation facility (OR: 5.91; CI: 2.95–11.85; p = 0.008).
Livestock-keeping was strongly associated with practicing
open defecation (OR: 0.22; CI 0.063–0.75; p < 0.001).
Of the 93 total households that practiced open defecation,
79 (85%) were dissatisfied with the practice, 62 (67%) had
plans to build a latrine and 17 (18%) had started saving
for a latrine. Among households that planned to build a
latrine, health was the primary reason stated (60%).
The inability to pay for upgrading sanitation infrastructure
was commonly reported among the households. Future
efforts should consider methods to reduce costs and
ease payments for households to upgrade sanitation
infrastructure. Messages to increase demand for latrine
adoption in rural Tanzania should integrate themes of
privacy, safety, prestige and health. Findings indicate a need
for lower cost sanitation options and financing strategies to
increase household ability to adopt sanitation facilities.
The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book
2014
The International Benchmarking Network Water Supply and
Sanitation Blue Book 2014
Authors - Danilenko, Alexander;
van den Berg, Caroline; Macheve,
Berta; Moffitt, L. Joe. 2014.
Publishers - World Bank Group
Well-run water utilities play an
important role in ending poverty
and boosting shared prosperity.
Consumers need reliable access to
high quality and affordable water
and sanitation services. To deliver these basic services
efficiently and effectively requires high-performing utilities
that are able to respond to urban growth, to connect with
the poor, and to improve wastewater disposal practices.
The IBNET Water Supply and Sanitation Blue Book 2014
summarizes the water sector status from 2006 to 2011.
Since 2006, municipal water performance has improved
despite accelerated urbanization and the impacts of triple
crises (food, fuel, and financial). Overall coverage has
increased and piped water and wastewater services became
accessible to more people. An increasing number of
utilities now actively handle the water billing, collection,
and water management through metering. IBNET tools,
such as data collection instruments and protocols, the
IBNET database, and the IBNET tariff database, enable

enhanced sharing of information on close to 4,500 utilities
from more than 130 countries and territories.
The MDG Report 2014: Assessing Progress in
Africa toward the Millennium Development Goals
Publisher – UNDP
Published - 31 Oct 2014 - 162 pp
While an increasing number of
Africans are enjoying higher living
standards, countries in SubSaharan Africa should redouble
efforts to ensure crises such as the
current Ebola outbreak in West
Africa do not reverse development
achievements, says the latest MDG report on Africa.
Africa’s poverty rates have continued to decline, despite
the adverse effects of the recent food, fuel, and global
economic crisis, says “Assessing Progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa”,
produced annually by the African Development Bank
(AfDB), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),
the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
However, conflict, political instability and natural or
man-made disasters threaten to unravel the progress mad