Adoption and Sustained Use of the Arborloo in Rural Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Dionna Fry1, Bekele Abaire2, Yeshewahareg Feyisa2, Dejene Mideksa2, Katherine Cunliffe2, Argaw Ambelu3, Matthew Freeman1

1Emory Rollins School of Public Health; Department of Environmental Health & Hubert Department of Global Health, 2 Catholic Relief Services; 3 Jimma University

Katherine Cunliffe, MPHRegional Technical Advisor for Water, Sanitation & HygieneCatholic Relief Services

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Background

• In rural Ethiopia, just 23% of the population has access to improved sanitation (JMP 2014)

• Ethiopia’s per capita income of $470 per annum is substantially lower than the regional average (World Bank 2014)

Simple, low-cost sanitation solutions that are easy to use and maintain are needed.

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The Arborloo

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The Arborloo – How it works

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CRS’ Arborloo promotion in Ethiopia

• Began promoting the Arborloo in 2004

• Arborloo was chosen because it is an affordable and easy to construct option for rural households

• CRS has helped households construct more than 80,000 Arborloos in rural Ethiopia

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Research Aims

Primary aim: Evaluate the reach and sustainability of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Ethiopia’s Arborloo sanitation intervention program 10 years after it began

Secondary aims:

• Examine why people continued using the Arborloo over time

• Examine if there were differences in the populations that adopted and sustained Arborloo use as compared to the general population

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Methods

Data Collection• Conducted a cross-sectional survey of 690 adults

in 20 villages in Oromia region• Random selection of villages and

households

• Interviewed 24 key informants

• Conducted 33 in-depth interviews

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Results

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Results

Among 462 households that had an arborloo in the last 10 years, 76.2% sustained arborloo use

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Results

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Qualitative Results - Pros

• Most important benefit is the ability to plant on the filled pit

• Safer than the traditional latrine, especially for children, since it is shallow

• Easier and cheaper to construct than a traditional latrine

• Fewer flies and smells than other latrines

Papaya tree planted on a Arborloo pit

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Qualitative Results - Cons

• Not receiving a seedling or having a seedling die prompted a switch to a traditional latrine

• No reason other than the pit filling up for stopping Arborloo use and returning to open defecation

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Limitations

• Responses to a households’ present and past latrine types was used to establish sustained arborloo use which may be subject to bias.

• Since this is a cross-sectional study, no causal relationship can be established

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Conclusions

• There was strong evidence that arborloo usage was sustained in intervention communities even after many years

• Factors such as pit usage and concrete slab availability were found to be strongly associated with arborloo sustainability

• No clear relationship between household wealth and arborloo uptake or continued use was observed

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Recommendations

• Improve access to arborloo materials via sanitation marking

• Understand why Islamic households are not using the arborloo for planting and adjust program messages accordingly

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Acknowledgements