Hai Phong in Viet Nam and Thimphu in Bhutan are examples of cities were less than have of faecal sludge that is produced is collecetd and treated by wastewater treatment plants. To improve sanitation for an entire city, requires systemic or whole system change, This presentation explains how you start to introduce systemic change, what the components of the whole system are and an example of a urban sanitation scorecard. Presented by Erick Baetings of IRC at the Round Table Discussion on Urban Sanitation in line with ULCTS hosted by IRC on 1 July 2015 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

1. Supporting water sanitation
and hygiene services for life
Round table discussion on urban
sanitation and UCLTS
IRC, 1 July 2015
Towards systemic
change in urban
sanitation

2. A complex world with many challenges
 Lack of institutional clarity
 Limited capacities of public officials and other sector actors
 Limited public financing with increased inequality as a result (e.g.
networked vs. onsite systems, rich vs. poor)
 Weak policy and regulatory framework and lack of enforcement of
norms and standards
 Inadequate containment by onsite systems resulting in toilets
discharging in drains or open water bodies
 Lack of adequately services to safely remove, transport, treat and
dispose or reuse human waste resulting in discriminate dumping of
human waste

3. Introduction | current situation
The real situation is often very different from the
perceived situation
Examples of two recent field trips

4. Hai Phong City in Vietnam

5. Example of a visit to Hai Phong city in Vietnam
 96% of households in Hai Phong reportedly have some sort
of onsite septic or holding tank
 However, some 70% of Hai Phong’s wastewater is collected
in a sewer system and then discharged untreated in a river
 Of the faecal sludge contained onsite only a portion is
collected and transferred to a World Bank financed faecal
sludge treatment plant
 Conclusions
 May be only some 20% is collected and treated
 The system works but is seriously inadequate

6. Thimphu City in Bhutan

7. Example of a visit to Thimphu in Bhutan
Crude shit flow diagram of Thimphu municipality

8. Introduction
Lots of talking about “whole system change” and
“whole system approach”…but…
 What is it all about?
 What are the elements or components that make
up the “whole system”?

9. Systemic change
“change that encompasses all parts of a system, taking into
account the interrelationships and interdependencies
among those parts”
versus
Piecemeal change
“changing one or several parts of a system”
Core concepts

10. Systemic change means that we need to
 Improve (sanitation) conditions in an entire geographic
or administrative area (e.g. municipality)
 Address all the relevant (weak) parts by considering the
whole range of issues
 Involve and work with all the stakeholders
 Be consciously systematic
Core concepts

11. Change process
Towards systemic change in urban sanitation (2014)
…providing clarity on the change process

12. First things first!
Following IRC’s process of change logic, any urban
sanitation development programme will have to start with
Phase 1: Initiating the change
How to get started

13. This crucial first phase will include four interconnected
elements:
1) Managing partnerships and
building trust;
2) Carrying out a comprehensive
situational assessment;
3) Consensus building around a
shared vision; and
4) Developing a comprehensive city-
level sanitation strategy and plan
How to get started

14. Whole system
Focus on “everything”; all important elements

15. How to get started
Example of a possible urban sanitation scorecard
Rapid assessment tool with the underlying principle:
What you assess is what you address!

17. Link with ULCTS
How does it fit together?

18. Visiting address
Bezuidenhoutseweg 2
2594 AV The Hague
The Netherlands
Postal address
P.O. BOX 82327
2508 EH The Hague
The Netherlands
T +31 70 3044000
info@ircwash.org
www.ircwash.org
Supporting water sanitation
and hygiene services for life