Improving Domestic Sanitation

On-site sanitation is the main form of excreta disposal in most sub-Saharan African cities and will remain the most appropriate level of service for the urban poor in the medium term. Despite heavy public investment in sewerage systems in most primary and some secondary cities, typically only 10-15% of the urban population benefit from access to the sewer network. About 80% of the urban population depends on on-site facilities such as septic tanks and pit latrines which, unlike sewers, are usually the responsibility of households. The majority of poor households use communal or shared pit latrines, although a few urban centers (such as Accra and Kano) still have bucket latrines and in some densely populated settlements, the "wrap and throw method" or "flying toilets" illustrated in Box 19, are prevalent.