Methods

Interventions The range of options available for improving access to sanitation is wide, especially in lowincome settings where large proportions of the population have access to only the most basic facilities. The Namibian Government favours intervention options that are low cost, that are feasible that do not require heavy maintenance. The entire analysis presented in this paper is based on changes in sanitation service levels. Table 2 categorizes which types of service are improved and which are considered to be unimproved. Note that services can be defined as unimproved not only if they are unsafe, but also if they are unnecessarily costly. Within the broad categorizations presented in Table 2, two further distinctions can be made: Table 2: Definition of improved water supply and sanitation
Intervention Improved Unimproved * Sanitation Improved Sewer connection Septic tank Pour-flush Simple pit latrine Ventilated Improved Pit latrine Unimproved * Service or bucket latrines Public latrines Latrines with an open pit

* Due to being either unsafe or costly

Source: Global Water Supply and Sanitation 2000 Report [2]

First, there are basic, low technology improvements to water and sanitation services: Improved sanitation, generally involving better access and safer disposal of excreta (septic tank, pour-flush, simple pit latrine, small bore sewer, or ventilated improved pitlatrine).

Second, there are further improvements that make the water or sanitation services safer, or more convenient: Personal hygiene education.

Finally, there are high technology improvements such as

Household connection to the sewerage system, and at least partial treatment of the sewage.

Based on these different improvements, five different interventions are modeled in this study, by assuming a shift between exposure scenarios (levels I to VI) shown in Table 3 [5]. These are:

Methodology
We propose a methodology for comparing costs of sanitation options, consisting of the following steps:

Analyze existing sanitation situation (we used three periurban areas in Lusaka as an example) Define possible sanitation options and selection criteria Short-list a small number of options (two in our case) based on the selection criteria Prepare concept designs for the short-listed options Prepare cost estimates based on the concept designs, using basic cost equations proposed in this paper Compare results based on overall cost (net present value) and other sustainability factors (other sustainability factors are only touched upon in this paper). Desk based literature review prior to in-country fieldwork (including published and grey documentation); Fieldwork in-country focusing on (i) key informant interviews (using semi-structured interview checklists) and (ii) limited household visits, where possible.