Community-led total sanitation: triggering sustainable development in Zambia

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) was introduced in Choma district in Zambia in late 2007. In\ntwelve months sanitation coverage has increased from 38% to 93% across 517 villages, 402 of which are\nopen defecation free. Over 14,500 toilets have been constructed by households with zero hardware\nsubsidy and approximately 90,000 people have gained access to sanitation in less than a year. It is\nestimated that 88% of toilets met the Government’s definition of ‘adequate’ sanitation and 76% had\nhandwashing\nfacilities. If the approach is expanded to the remaining 300 villages in the district it is\nalmost certain that the MDG sanitation target will be surpassed at district level more than five years\nahead of time. The approach has accelerated access to sanitation far faster than subsidized sanitation\napproaches of the past and has enabled communities to recognize that they can develop without\n‘handouts’; this has led to community led\ninitiatives in other areas of development.