REPORT__Evaluating_the_potential_of_microfinance_for_sanitation_in_Tanzania_May_2013

In the 1970s, the high profile Mtu ni Afya public education campaign led to the widespread
construction of basic household latrines. As a result, Tanzania still has very high coverage of
basic household latrines compared to elsewhere in Africa.
According to the JMP, however, access to “improved” sanitation is much lower and has only
just kept up with population growth between 1990 and 2008. Overall coverage remained
stagnant at 24%, hiding a widening rural/urban gap, as rural improved sanitation coverage
dropped to 21% whilst coverage rose to 32% in urban areas. This means that about 26
million Tanzanians use unsanitary or shared latrines and 5.4 million have no latrine and
defecate in the open (UNICEF, 2010).
According to the “Economics Impacts of Sanitation in Africa” study conducted by the Water
and Sanitation Programme and released in 2011, poor sanitation results in approximately
TZS 301 billion losses each year for the country (equivalent to USD 206 million or 1% of
national GDP). More than 80% of these losses are linked to higher mortality, given that
approximately 26,500 Tanzanians, including 18,500 children under 5, die each year from
diarrhoea – nearly 90% of which is directly attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene.
In addition, faecal contamination of the environment is the root cause of an annual average
of 5,800 cases of cholera affecting Tanzania.
If such a trend is maintained, Tanzania is going to miss the Millennium Development Goals
by a substantial margin. Water coverage, albeit higher, will also be insufficient to meet the
MDGs. According to CSO2, the JMP puts water supply coverage at 54% (45% in rural areas,
80% in urban areas) representing a slight downward trend from 55% in 2008.
Institutional and policy arrangements
Until very recently, institutional roles and responsibilities for household sanitation were not
clearly defined. At national policy-making level, the MoHSW (Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare) has the mandate for coordination of sanitation policy and finance matters, whilst the
MoWI (Ministry of Water and Irrigation) is responsible for sewerage.
At the operational level, a similar organisational split is in place. Sewerage services are
under the responsibility of autonomous Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities (WSSAs),
regulated by EWURA (Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority). EWURA regulates
129 WSSAs, which include Regional as well as District and Small Towns Water Supply and
Sewerage Authorities (DWSSAs) located in regional, district and small towns capitals
respectively. According to EWURA (2010), only 10 such WSSAs currently operate sewerage
systems with an average coverage rate of 13.9%, including DAWASA/DAWASCO in Dar es
Salaam and 9 regional WSSAs (Arusha, Moshi, Tanga, Morogoro, Dodoma, Iringa, Mbeya,
Songea and Tabora). Only 35,000 households nationwide have a network sewerage
connection, less than 10% of the number of household with a water supply connection and
less than 2% of all urban households.
All other sanitation (both in urban and rural areas) is done on-site, under the responsibility of
the households themselves, with some support for demand promotion and sensitisation
campaigns provided by municipal governments, international donors and NGOs. Due to a
combination of low awareness and a lack of finance, households have only built very basic
latrines and do not empty them regularly. For example, according to the Household Budget
Survey (2007), close to 99% of the population in Dar es Salaam report using a toilet of some
sort, with over 80% of the population using a simple pit latrine, while 10% use flush toilets
and 8% use VIP latrines (HBS, 2007).
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