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EN HA NCING ACCES S O F T O I L E T S
AMONG MALAWIANS
Plan International is one of the leading international NGOs
implementing child centered community development
programs in 70 countries around the world. Its vision is
Children in Malawi, especially the adolescent girls,
transition to responsible adulthood, in societies that
respect their rights.
Plan has been working in Malawi since 1994 with physical
offices in Mulanje, Lilongwe, Kasungu, Mzimba districts and
is scaling out to other districts currently at 26.
As an international child-centered community
development organization committed to the wellbeing of
children and supporting the Convention of the Rights of
the Child, Plan does not tolerate any form of child abuse. .In
ensuring that children are very well protected and living in
good environment, Plan International Malawi implements
various programs of which Water, Sani- tation and Hygiene
(WASH) is one of them
In the recent past, Plan has been among the leading
organizations implementing WASH in the rural areas as well
as the peri- urban areas of some major cities in Malawi
Approach
Plan understands and appreciates the importance of
community participation and involvement in its interventions.
Especially those to do with Water and Sanitation. As such, Plan
promotes Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) to trigger
the commu- nities to construct, own and use latrines. In some
instances involving public institutions (schools, markets and
health centres), plan provides latrine facilities that are socially
inclusive and accommodates all types of people
Strategies
Working with Traditional Leaders and community
structures
In order to increase community participation and ownership,
Plan International orients and builds the capacity of traditional
leaders to be the champions of CLTS. Plan promotes exchange
visits of chiefs from various communities to learn from each
other and to act as a motivation for those that are not doing
well in terms of Open Defecation Free (ODF) communities.
In addition, Plan also works with established local structures
like the Village Development committees (VDCs), Village
Health Committees (VHCs) and other existing structures that
promote good health and livelihoods among the communities.
This en- sures sustainability of the interventions even if Plan
goes out of the communities.
Working with the Government
For any WASH intervention to make a meaningful
impact, Plan believes in working with the Government
and ensures that all Government policies guiding
sanitation are adhered to. This collaboration is
done at both the National and District levels. At the
District level, Plan gets guidance from the District
Coordinating Team (DCT) and also participates
in District Executive Committee (DEC) meetings.
Before undertaking any intervention, Plan consults
the District Councils for approval. This is be- sides
the already established impact areas through our
sponsorship programs located in Lilongwe, Kasungu,
Mulanje and Mzimba.
Collaboration with other CSOs
Plan believes that for Malawi to make good strides
in achieving universal access to sanitation as per the
SDGs, there is need for enhancement of partnership
among players implementing WASH activities. This
collaboration is in areas of implementation, advocacy
as well as knowledge and learning!
sustainable
sanitation
Pictures depicting some of the structures at Msilo Waste Management Facility. The elements shown
above include a landfill, drying bed, Sorting shed and waste treatment ponds
Background
Plan International Malawi, with development
assistance from Australia Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is implementing
the four year Mulanje District Total Sanitation
Project. The project is funded to the tune of
AUD 2, 228, 880 which is equiva- lent to US$
1, 681,628.00
The major goal of the activity is to promote
health and wellbeing of communities in
the whole of Mulanje district by improving
sanitation use and hygiene behaviour by
2017. It is working towards the ambitious
Government of Malawi targets of nationwide
ODF achievement by 2020 and 100% appropriate
hygiene practices by 2022 goals which Mulanje
district has set to meet by 2017.
Mulanje district is divided into 6 Traditional
Authorities and these are Mabuka, Juma,
Mthiramanja, Nkanda, Njema and Chikumbu.
These TAs are further subdivided into 9 Area
Development Committees (ADCs) namely;
Chinyama, Chikumbu, Juma, Kam- wendo,
Milonde, Mimosa, Mthiramanja, Njema and
Nkanda.
Key Achievements
Sanitation and Hygiene
Using CLTS and SLTS, 546 villages and 162
schools were triggered. A total 136 villages are
now ODF with 118,806 people from 25,367
households living in ODF environment.
Traditional Leaders are championing CLTS
in their villages in line with ODF action plans
developed at village level and Traditional
Authority (TA) level. Mulanje DCT also formulated a district ODF action whose focus of
attainment of ODF at TA level.
CLTS activities are also being implemented
in 29 market centres. Under the project 120
masons have been trained in construction of