Advancing the Clean and Green rural sanitation framework: insights from Burkina Faso

Sanitation and hygiene interventions in rural communities usually have a strong focus on human excreta (i.e. urine and faeces), promoting the construction and use of toilets as well as handwashing at critical times. However, a growing body of research shows the need to address a wider range of local contamination risks to achieve significant health improvements in these contexts. Addressing these wider risks requires reducing exposure to animal excreta and strengthening food hygiene and water management practices. At the same time, to significantly enhance agricultural production and environmental sustainability in the face of climate risks and resource constraints, all major household and community waste flows containing nutrients, organic matter, or water should be safely reused to the extent possible.

To support comprehensive management of waste-related risks and resources SEI developed the Clean and Green framework, aiming to promote progress in sanitation and hygiene while enabling households to benefit from safely recycling resources found in local waste flows. This framework is currently being piloted in Burkina Faso in collaboration with WaterAid and Eau Vive International (EVI).

This discussion brief presents an updated version of the Clean and Green framework. It also provides an overview of tools developed for Clean and Green diagnostics, awareness-raising and monitoring that support implementation in Burkina Faso. The next steps include an impact evaluation of the first pilot project and adapting the tools and methods for other contexts.