News & Learning

The Effect of Smart Subsidies and Sanitation Marketing on Latrine Uptake in Rural Cambodia

Researchers wanted to determine whether sanitation marketing alone, Output-Based Aid (OBA) subsidy targeting the poor alone, or a combination of both interventions would make a difference in latrine uptake across different poverty levels in Cambodian villages. The researchers analyzed data from households across three income groups – non-poor, near-poor, and poor – to determine differences in latrine uptake across different poverty levels.

Results

1. There was no evidence of pro-poor subsidies acting as a disincentive to wealthier households to purchase and build latrines.
2. Villages that implemented subsidies for the poor and sanitation marketing interventions showed higher latrine coverage among all income groups when compared to villages that implemented only one program.

Conclusion

Targeted subsidies and sanitation marketing should be recognized as complementary interventions, each targeting a particular income group, and their additive effect among the overall population is dramatic.

Authors: Rivera, G. Joseph, S. Smets, V. Chan, P. Ljung, S. Um, H. Nguyen, and J. Albert

Commissioned by Thrive Networks with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Australian Government, conducted by the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank.

Materials:

The Effect of OBA Subsidies Combined with Sanitation Marketing (SanMark) on Latrine Uptake Among Rural Populations in Cambodia,  R. Rivera, et al., presented May 15, 2016. Download Paper

The effect of OBA subsidies combined with sanitation marketing on latrine uptake among rural populations in Cambodia,  R. Rivera, et al., presented May 16, 2016, WASH Futures Brisbane 2016. Download Paper