Creating demand for safe human excreta disposal in a nomadic community: a case study of Riba location, Wajir county

Wajir South Development Association (WASDA) as one of the WASH actors in Wajir county, with support from Amref Health Africa in Kenya, has been implementing the Kenya Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Programme (K-SHIP) funded by Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) through the Global sanitation Fund (GSF). The programme targeted the rural set ups in Wajir East, where communities majorly practice pastoralism. Though this lifestyle is viewed as maintaining the livelihood of communities, it presents significant health challenges and environmental pressures, especially where it is combined with nomadism. This paper presents the methods adopted to influence behaviour change to make the communities open defecation free (ODF) and lessons learnt during implementation of the program. The programme implementing team adopted several innovative approaches within the actual CLTS approach to overcome these barriers. Customizing the timing of triggering where CLTS activities are mainly intensified during the rainy seasons with post-triggering follow ups done at dawn and dusk targeting household heads, involvement of religious leaders and school children and empowering women played a big role in achieving several ODF villages.