Introduction
Nowadays the poorest and the most vulnerable have little access to individual sanitation in low income and high density urban areas of sub Saharan Africa. In Ghana, more than half of the urban population is sharing sanitation facilities. The PhD research aims to understand the acceptability of such facilities in poor urban settlements of Ashaiman, Ghana. The travelling scholarship provided by the university allowed the pilot fieldwork to Ashaiman.
Aim and relevance of the PhD research
Sharing sanitation is a widespread practice in the pooorest and high density urban area of South Asia and Sub
Saharan Africa. Those practices are not recognized improved by the relevant international agencies, however the same agencies highlight the need to investigate the acceptability of such practices by the users themselves.
Answering implementers and urban planners needs, this research aims to identify and characterize the users’
determinants of relative acceptability of shared sanitation. A better understanding of the relative acceptability will help stakeholders to identify in which context and under which form shared sanitation can be an acceptable solutions for urban dwellers.
Use of the award
Investigating users acceptability of shared toilets, and understanding why and how sanitation providers implement such facilities can be done only through fieldwork. Such fieldwork has to be done in two phases: a pilot and a main study. The pilot study in order to validate the choosen area, identifying specific neighbourhoods where the research will be carried out, identifying human resources including guide and translators, testing data collection methods and finally assessing all future logistic issues.
The award provided by the Loughborough univesity allowed me to develop this pilot through purchase of the flight tickets and the recrutment of two translators for three weeks. The pilot was conducted in Ashaiman, a town of 200 000 inhabitants located on the suburbs of Tema, 50 kilometers at the east of Accra. It also allowed me to test some innovative method in such context such as informants photographs. Disposable camera was ended over to urban dwellers. The participants took pictures of their urban environment pointed out the lack of maintenance of toilets and drains but also some practices such as open defecation .

Transect walk: surveying numbers of private toilets
Informants photograph: open defecation practices
Participatory mapping: assessing usages of shared toilets with a group of women
Following this pilot study, Ashaiman is confirmed as a suitable location for carrying out the main study. Data collected through participatory mapping, transect walk and questionnaires show that dwellers have different patterns when it comes to use shared sanitation facilities. Those patterns are influenced by their income but not only; social environment, gender, comfort, ease of access are some of the determinants that need to be investigated during the main study. Some results of this pilot study are presented at the 3 rd Ghana Water
Forum (September 2011).
The way forward
This award and the pilot that it financed are a key step in the development of the main study planned for the end of 2011. During the main study, sanitation facilities and usages of 4 neighbourhoods will be assessed and over 1000 urban dwellers will be consulted through participatory mapping, survey and interviews. Such work will provide a unique understanding of the acceptability of shared facilities in Ashaiman. Several agencies in
Ghana and also worldwide manifested their interest in the future results as it will help providers to better conceive and manage shared sanitation facilities in high density and low income urban settlements.
Adrien Mazeau
PhD scholar, Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University