Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa

??? CEA 5

Lessons

Risks

Impacts

• Although best practices target first of all pathogenic risk, the model can also address chemical risks if the sources can be controlled by the participating private-sector entities through source pre-treatment and a ‘zero-waste’policy. • Financing of wastewater treatment plants remains a challenge in many cities. Systems demanding low operation and maintenance that can be upgraded with time should be preferred.

• Health risks due to exposure to pathogens in poorly treated wastewater affecting farm workers and consumers. • High salinity in wastewater can lead to soil degradation. • Contamination of crops with heavy metals • Groundwater pollution

• The need to secure water could be a driving force towards setting up basic treatment plants. • In farmer-led designs, the focus might be on removing visible pollutants, such as plastics. Therefore, the targeted treatment level of the wastewater may be insufficient.

Environmental

• Such initiatives could learn from or be combined with other ongoing and well-established programmes, e.g. for handwashing.

• Increased risk awareness is required for this model to be successful. • Awareness and demand creation could take time to materialize.

• Social marketing campaigns and trainings for women constitute an important step towards social integration and poverty alleviation.

Social

• The social nature of the costs of implementing this model justifies the need for public investments in incentives to promote best practices and minimize risks. • Models building on corporate social responsibility (CSR) can catalyse change where public-sector policies and regulations are only emerging. • The model aligns with the World Health Organization recommendation to adopt a step-by-step and stakeholder-inclusive approach to risk mitigation as an intermediate step until (a) comprehensive wastewater collection and treatment systems are in place, and (b) strict safety guidelines can be implemented and enforced.

• Market for premium customers must be created at a sufficient scale.

• Every dollar spent on risk reduction from ‘farm to fork’ will return US$5 in savings on consumer health care.

Profitability/ cost recovery

• These models offer improved safety compared to business-as-usual models.

Innovation

• This model helps to reduce risks where wastewater treatment systems are lacking and farmers use directly or indirectly untreated, partially treated or diluted wastewater. • Only a few successful cases have been recorded globally.

Scalability – replicability

• Compliance of interventions with standards and procedures must be monitored.

• Public-sector involvement and monitoring of practices is essential.

Policy

282

SANITATION AND WASTEWATER ATLAS OF AFRICA