REPORT__Evaluating_the_potential_of_microfinance_for_sanitation_in_Tanzania_May_2013

varies greatly from country to country. In addition, a number of NGOs and microfinance specialists are
providing support services to incorporate microfinance products into the design of broader
development interventions, which may include development of tailored financial products and/or
brokering with financial institutions and training.
See http://www.microfinancegateway.org for more information.
Box 2- What is sanitation?
Sanitation can be defined as the methods for the safe and sustainable management of human
excreta, including the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of faeces and urine. To achieve this
objective, a series of services need to be provided alongside the “sanitation value chain”, as shown
on Figure 1 and detailed below.
Figure 1. The “sanitation value chain”
Demand promotion. Demand for sanitation is often low. Interventions to increase household and
community demand for sanitation typically include promotion of sanitation in general, marketing of
specific sanitation products, hygiene promotion, social development and mobilization and community
triggering.
Collection / access. Human waste needs to be collected and separated from human contact.
Collecting the waste can be done either through on-site sanitation solutions (whereby excreta are
collected, stored and sometimes treated close to the toilet) and off-site systems, where excreta are
removed from the plot, most commonly via waterborne sewerage. In general, as density increases,
networked systems are increasingly cost-effective compared to on-site sanitation solutions. Specific
services need to be provided to collect the wastes not only from people’s homes but also from public
spaces (railway stations, markets, etc.), work places and schools.
Transport. When latrines fill up they need to be moved or emptied, while latrines connected to
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