Water Services That Last
Life-Cycle Costs Approach
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Basic Elements for Messages

In Chapter 2 we saw that target audiences must be segmented, so that approaches and messages can be tailor-made. This is not a mechanical process. Shaping messages to the particular audience means taking into account the current knowledge, attitudes and practice of each audience.

There are some basic elements for messages which are primary examples of what will usually be relevant for each of the three priority audience groups. These elements are outlined here in the hope that they will be helpful in the formation of specific messages.

These elements do not constitute a complete list of what may be needed to produce messages. There will other information including local knowledge, and local experiences.

So far as is possible, data presented at national level should be national data. How many people in each country are deprived of their right to clean drinkable water and sanitation? How many deaths can be attributed to unsafe water and sanitation? How much illness is there from unsafe water? How much avoidable human misery do deaths and illnesses cause and how much do they cost the economy of the country?

Sector professionals will also be influenced if local examples can be produced which illustrate some of the elements for messages which are printed below. Communities and users will certainly be more strongly influenced by examples close to their own circumstances, than by generalisations or by examples from other countries.

Policy makers

Key elements for messages to convince national policy makers are:

  • Water is essential for life, and disposing excreta a daily bodily function.
  • Access to safe water and sanitation facilities is a basic human right.
  • Besides human consumption and waste disposal, water is used for irrigation, fishery, animal husbandry and small- and large-scale industries.
  • Water being such a basic need for life is an easy entry point for community action and involvement for broader scale development.
  • Water supply can support more independent management in communities, for which decentralised decision making at all levels is needed.
  • Accessible safe water saves women's time, which improves the welfare of women, and provides more time for family care or income-producing activities.
  • Policy makers have to encourage and provide a framework for the sector to flexibly respond to community demands and possibilities.
  • Water is becoming a political issue. Competition between agriculture, households and industry must be dealt with.
  • Urban water conservation is becoming an essential policy and strategy issue that, unless integrated into government programmes, threatens to hamper economic growth.
  • The World Health Organisation recognises that improvements in water and sanitation facilities constitute the most effective measure in controlling cholera, typhoid, parasitic and other endemic diseases.
  • Control of disease and removal of constraints on economic growth are essential steps in the eradication of poverty.
  • Environmental problems facing the country cannot be solved without recognising the environmental benefits of effective sanitation.
  • Effective integration of technical and social factors is essential to maximise social and environmental health benefits.

Sector professionals

Water and sanitation professionals need to know and understand the elements for messages being used to convince policy makers and opinion leaders. They also need to assimilate the lessons of the last decade, which saw the New Delhi, Dublin and Rio de Janeiro statements and declarations. These all call for a more participatory way of working where effective communication is recognised as the factor that can make a real difference to outcomes.

The elements which will be most useful for the production of messages can be grouped under several headings, covering integration and water resource management, linkage with the community, organisation of the sector and the communication process.

Integration and Water Resource Management

  • Effective integration of water supply and hygiene education is essential to maximise social and environmental health benefits.
  • Water supply and sewerage investment must be planned together, since the collection and disposal of human and solid wastes have important links with water supply.
  • Provision of safe water can only be guaranteed if water resources for future generations are safeguarded through conservation and protection.
  • Women's participation must be ensured. Capacity building and skill development will enable them to play their role.
  • Water should have an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognised as an economic good.
  • It is vital to recognise the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price.
  • The level of service they want and are willing to pay for will have to be negotiated with communities.
Linkage with the Community
  • A partnership approach with communities results in better targeting, more efficient implementation and greater sustainability.
  • If services and good practices are to become sustainable then they must meet the felt needs of the users.
  • Local 'community' management of facilities is the key to sustainability and proper use of most water supply systems.
  • Long-term sustainability of a WSS system can only be achieved if users take responsibility for operating and maintaining the system and contribute adequate financial resources.
Organisation of the sector
  • The sector needs well-established, well run, flexible institutions, responsive to local initiatives.
  • Trained staff are essential, and capacity building and skill development at all levels are a must.
  • Community management organisation requires time and effort in training, follow-up and consultation.
  • Government departments and NGOs can facilitate community management through communication, advice, education, training, and support for planning and implementation that would ensure equitable representation of all interest groups in the community.
  • Better coordination between government departments, and between implementing agencies contributes to more effective water supply and sanitation programmes.
  • More use should be made of the experience and contribution of non-governmental organisations and the private sector.
Communication process
  • IEC (Information, Education and Communication) forms an essential ingredient underlying all sector work.
  • Communication is a powerful means to communicate more effectively with policy people and to engage in real dialogue with consumers.
  • Evaluating relevant information will identify better ways of spending resources.
  • Information exchange provides an important opportunity for efficient development of water supply and sanitation projects.
  • Alliances and coalitions need to be built with other sectors to tackle the multiple tasks in water supply and sanitation.

Users

Two-way communication with the users of water and sanitation is one of the most profound changes that is being sought in the sector and is one of the cornerstones for a strategy of successful communication. Effective messages will be those that are tailored to each community, which address themselves to the felt needs of the community. If the link between good sanitation and health is not understood or acknowledged, the advantages of privacy and convenience may still succeed in bringing about a change in practice.

Elements for messages for communities include:

Health
  • Water is essential for life, and disposing excreta a daily bodily function.
  • Access to safe water and sanitation facilities is a basic human right.
  • Improved water and sanitation technologies will only lead to health impacts if linked with appropriate behaviour and proper use.
  • Drinking clean water protects family members from sickness.
  • If no improved water supply is available it is safer to use upstream water for human use, and downstream water for waste disposal.
  • Protection of water sources, and water containers safeguards health.
  • Illnesses can be prevented by washing hands with soap or ash and water after contact with faeces and before handling food.
  • Illnesses can be prevented by using latrines.
  • If it is not possible to use a latrine, adults and children should defecate well away from houses, paths, water supplies and anywhere were children play. Faeces should be buried.
  • Latrines should be cleaned regularly.
  • Illness can be prevented by burning household refuse or burying it in a special pit.
Convenience
  • Latrines in the house or nearby are more convenient and provide privacy.
  • Pumps or taps provided nearby eliminate the wearisome labour of women and children who may otherwise walk two to three hours a day to gather water for their families.
  • Cleanliness at home and in the compound, village or city prevents disease, loss of work days, loss of income, and heavy medical expenses.
  • Water is precious and sanitation facilities are necessary, and are worth paying for.
Other benefits
  • Accessible safe water saves women's time, improves welfare of women and provides more time for family care or income-producing activities.
  • Waste water from handpumps can be used to irrigate a little vegetable garden.
  • Water, being a basic need for life, is an entry point for community action and broader scale development.
  • Once a village can get its water supply organised it can also take up other basic services and income-generating activities.
Management
  • Water and sanitation facilities belong to the community, and individuals in the community must assume responsibility for them.
  • In partnership with sector agencies, communities must assume management of the facilities.
  • The communities' own resources should be mobilised as much as possible.

NB: The Division of Global and Inter-regional programmes of UNDP in 1991 published a test version of a manual aimed at improvements at the household level, "Water gardens and Health, a guide for community educators", which employs simple dialogue, messages and illustrations. The manual can be adapted to fit local conditions.