The social and political construction of latrines in rural Ethiopia

This study seeks to understand the complexity of efforts to improve sanitation practices in the infrastructure-restricted and environmentally vulnerable setting of two rural districts of the Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia. It seeks to simultaneously address micro-level behavioural and social determinants of sanitation, on the one hand, and political and environmental drivers, on the other hand. We draw on analysis of secondary information and own survey comprising structured interviews and direct observations in 368 households in 11 villages as well as 20 semi-structured interviews with health workers and village leaders. We consecutively examine different sanitation drivers and then attempt to paint a complex picture of sanitation situation in a given context. We found high latrine coverage and use but low functional quality of latrines implying uncertain benefits to human health. We attribute this pattern to relationships between the political construction of latrines (political commitment to sanitation characterized by the command-and-control nature of Ethiopian governance), socially constructed perceptions of symbolic risks and benefits of sanitation, and neglect of sanitation technologies within an environmental context.