“Look at the color of my baby’s clothes!” See how dirty it is? It’s not good but I can’t waste the water to wash,” laments Nasolo, a resident of Manindry, a small village attached to the municipality of Sampona, in southern Madagascar. She sat in the front row of the assembly formed under the palaver tree. While breastfeeding her baby, she does not hesitate for a second to speak up when the issue of the lack of toilets is raised in the town located about forty minutes from Ambovombé, the main town in the Androy region. . “For babies, in the morning when they wake up, we hold them squatting over a bag, and then we throw it outside the village,” says the young woman. For adults, it depends. »

Dozens of tall cacti stand at the exit of Manindry. It is this space that takes the place of a toilet for those who cannot create a dedicated place near their home. Lala, another woman from the village, explains: “Some families have a dug hole with a small shower next to it. » Rudimentary latrines hidden behind some boards or sisals.

“The problem is there’s nothing to plug after use, so the flies can happily go there.” They keep feces on their paws and will land on food or directly on toddlers,” says Lalatiana Rahelisoa, Androy Manager of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) WASH sanitation program. . A single gram of faeces can contain up to 10 million viruses, a million bacteria and a thousand parasitic cysts.

A single gram of faeces can contain up to 10 million viruses, a million bacteria and a thousand parasitic cysts. “We wash our private parts with just a little water so as not to waste and our hands with ashes,” explains Lala. Its use is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) when soap is lacking. However, the UN agency recalls that not washing your hands thoroughly after defecating and before eating contributes to more than 800,000 deaths per year caused by diarrhea, more than with malaria. It is the second leading cause of death for children under 5 years old.

Empty tanks

Without access to real latrines, a third of Malagasy people – some 10 million people – still relieve themselves in the open air. Androy, among the poorest regions of the country, is one of the rural areas still largely affected by this practice. The lack of access to water, and even more to drinking water, is chronic there and complicates the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people, in particular the implementation of hygiene and sanitation measures. “This is our main problem,” summarizes the mayor of Sampona.

In Manindry, the large concrete containers installed to collect rainwater are completely empty in this month of June, the austral winter period. It will be necessary to wait months to hope to see them engorge. “Here, the rainy season is getting shorter every year,” says Lalatiana Rahelisoa, from UNICEF’s WASH program.

While waiting for the rains to come, the villagers have no choice but to walk for several hours to draw water from the river, located 15 km away, or to wait for the water cart to pass. But paying 2,000 ariarys (0.40 euros) for a twenty-litre container is a significant expense for many families. Not to mention that this water is far from healthy. The river where it is taken is used to wash, to do the laundry and also to relieve oneself. The villagers must therefore filter it, boil it and then treat it with products distributed by NGOs in order to limit the risks for the youngest.

In the commune of Sihanamaro, half an hour from Ambovombé, UNICEF has deployed an “all-in-one” sanitation program. The city now benefits from a borehole which allows the inhabitants to access drinking water and the municipality has in parallel developed the use of latrines. Since 2021, Sihanamaro has been declared “Open Defecation Free” (ODF, free from open defecation) by Unicef, the deputy mayor proudly explains.

“The shame of exposing oneself”

Each household built their amenities with the support of the UN agency and SAHI, a local NGO. “Those who have enough surface place them near their house. For the others, a common ground is made available”, indicates the elected official, who is pleased to see the health of the villagers improving, “especially the children, several of the youngest in the village died before the arrival of the latrines. “.

An observation shared by Mahora Rasoanirina, 60, the chief of the village of Morafeno, attached to Sihanamaro. Water should soon be available there, “if the feasibility studies confirm the possibility of drilling,” says Lalatiana Rahelisoa. But the village has already passed the first stage of sanitation and has also been certified ODF. “We have abandoned our old habits”, sums up the one who has managed this village of more than 300 souls for eighteen years.

Moravy, 24, mother of three children, speaks with confidence in front of the two hundred villagers gathered under the palaver tree. She explains how the latrines changed her life. She who used to do “without shame in the fields or at the exit of the village” insists on the importance of closed toilets to preserve her privacy. “With the latrines also came the shame of exposing yourself,” explains the young mother. Like other parents, she educates her children not to “go outside”. It is such a revolution that the children have created a song which they sing at the top of their voices on the way to the “city of latrines” built outside the town.

“Listening to the locals”

“We were told how to cut a canister to make a lid that closes well and prevents flies from bringing droppings home,” Moravy points out. It is also necessary to put ash well to kill their eggs and avoid odors. » A bottle of water is attached to a stick in front of each latrine for hand washing. “Even if we have to fetch water from 8 km away, we always save some for that because now we know it’s important,” said Sakandala, 16.

In the city, the strategy to convince residents to abandon open defecation is different. “We don’t have a community approach here. We try to convince a person, hoping that their family will follow, then their neighbors and friends,” explains Jose Andriniaina Ramaroson, a liaison officer for the NGO Water Aid, a partner of Unicef. In Ambovombé, where more than 100,000 people live, many still defecate outdoors.

Approached in a market by Water Aid volunteers, Vahone, 64, decided to build a latrine on the land she shares with three other households. His closest neighbor took the plunge, convinced by his feedback. “You have to listen to the people,” says Luciano Andriantsoa, ??another Water Aid worker. Because reluctance is sometimes surprising. “A gentleman told me that if we installed “beautiful white toilets”, he would be afraid to use them, he continues. Another confessed to me that he would take it as an insult! There are many parameters to take into account if we want to change things over time. »