Issues and challenges of providing adequate sanitation to people living on the shore of Lake Malawi: Case of Monkey Bay, Malawi

Coverage of adequate sanitation facilities in rural areas in Monkey Bay is low despite initiatives by Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), government institutions and the local community. NGOs have donated cement, reinforcement bars, and moulds for making 4000 dome slabs. They also trained volunteers to help the communities construct latrines. In addition, they trained local leaders on sanitation and hygiene. The communities provided bricks, sand, quarry stone and labour as a prerequisite to benefit from donations by theNGOs. A follow up survey after the initial intervention revealed that out of 21314 (100%) households, 54.4% had traditional pit latrines of which 4% had dome slabs. Coverage of kitchens, bath shelters and refuse pits was 55%, 67% and 21%, respectively. This paper analyses sanitation initiatives by NGOs and local communities, factors attributing to lowcoverage of sanitation facilities and also sustainability of sanitation interventions in the area.