REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

------------- MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS AND

INTERNAL AFFAIRS

RIVER GEE COUNTY

COUNTY WATER

AND SANITATION PLAN

September 2009

Sicap Sacré Cœur III Villa N° 9231 - BP : 16473 Dakar/Fann Tél : 869-37-93 - Fax : 827-94-99 - Email : gerad@orange.sn – Site Web : www.geradsn.org

I-BACKGROUND

1-1 INTRODUCTION

1-1-1 Background of the research

WaterAid is an international charity organisation focusing on the access of all to safe water and

sanitation services which are nowadays considered as vital needs but also are included in the MDGs

aimed at halving the proportion of people in the world without access to safe water and sanitation

by 2015. WaterAid’s strategy is built around strengthening the capacities of Local Governments for

them to achieve MDG 7 which is related to water and sanitation.

In this respect, WaterAid West Africa has developed a regional strategy (2005-2010),

implementation of which has provided satisfactory results in terms of access and management and

of decentralised water and sanitation services in the four countries where the organisation works-

Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, and Ghana. This regional strategy has built on the national strategic

and operational planning policies and documents on water and sanitation. The intended objective

was to develop the sector capacity through increased funding. The approach used was to support the

Local Governments (LGs) to focus on decentralisation and good governance since the sector

development plans are advocacy and negotiation tools to influence policies

The Mid Term Review of this strategy led to recommendations which include the broadening of

WaterAid’s work to other West African countries, mainly the desert and post-conflict ones. The

choice of Liberia is in fitting with this and aims to support the national and international

stakeholders who are striving to re construct this country. WaterAid’s contribution focuses on

improving access to safe water and sanitation but also promoting good governance and local

democracy.

1-1-2 Rationale of the study

The findings of the scoping study present Liberia as one of the poorest country in the world and this

poverty situation got worsened by the negative impact of the civil war (1997 – 2003), consequences

of which include:

a high percentage of the population (nearly 90%) living under food insecurity,

one of the highest level of child mortality in the world,

Civil war has caused not only the displacement of many Liberians towards neighbour countries, but also

the destruction of basic facilities and infrastructures. But the country is under reconstruction through the

peace Agreement signed in Accra in 2003 which led to the establishment of a transition government

tasked among other things, to organise democratic elections. This process is strengthened by the

permanent presence of a UN peace keeping force in Liberia with a primary mission of securing people

and their goods as well as human development.

The democratic elections held in 2005 and won by Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - first woman in Africa to

access this top level function provided a turning point for the reconstruction of Liberia which is marked by

an administrative re structuring and new Local Governments. Indeed, the country currently counts 15

Counties subdivided into Districts, each of which is made up of local communities.

high malnutrition level (30% of children under 5 years of age,

a low level of access to water (25%) and sanitation infrastructures (14%),

prevalence of endemic and infectious diseases including cholera.

The reconstruction process of Liberia under the supervision of UN peace keeping forces has

encouraged the return or arrival of financial partners working in various development areas. To

promote synergy of all the stakeholders’ work, the national authorities have initiated actions aimed

at a better coordination of these activities.

The consultation processes in the Local Governments went through a participatory approach and

enabled the development of a poverty reduction strategy document which was completed in June

2008. Then, an implementation plan of all activities in this document has been designed. Note that

each county owns a sector programme which summarises the key activities and their

implementation plan and timeline. The sector programmes which run from 2008 to 2012 set out the

implementation strategies and modalities of all development actions in Liberia.

In Liberia, the development of a County Water and Sanitation Plan requires both a strategy and an

approach focused in an effective involvement of the national authorities, in particular the Ministries

of Internal Affairs and Economic Affairs. This is to ensure consistency with the national planning

processes.

1-1-3 Methodology

The assignment took place in a post-conflict country where civil war has destroyed the social

pattern, therefore making it difficult to apply the traditional process of designing planning

documents. A flexible strategy has therefore been developed, taking into account a lot of

uncontrolled parametres. The team even took the risk in going to boundary area which is

particularly known as very dangerous as a result of the many crimes perpetrated on roads.

a suitable strategy: in this such a context, the consultant’s approach was to focus on focus-

group discussions, workshops and individual meetings. We met with the national authorities to

agree on a data collection approach to fully gather relevant information while ensuring the

security of the consultants. Workshops were organised in the chief town of the County to

include the stakeholders of the various Districts. Meetings were also held with national

The method used has focused on applying negotiation tools to help participants own the approach and

actions but also to ensure effective involvement of local authorities in the process. This approach

enabled to learn about the following which has to do with the civil war undergone by people:

withdrawal –autism and obvious individualism,

participants’ strong irritability during the workshops,

serious lack of communication infrastructures: most participants had to trek all night long to

attend the workshops as a result of the long distance between their Districts to the chief town of

the County.

authorities to materialise the actions agreed upon during the discussions between GERAD team

and the national authorities.

Focus on collective behaviour: the facilitation tools were guided by decoding the signs and

behaviours which underpin a group dynamic. The various stakeholders involved in the study or

working in the water, hygiene and sanitation sector were organised in groups of 5 to 6

participants by District. Except the representatives from the 8 Districts of Grand Kru, the

workshop was also attended by local authorities, local state agencies and one representative of

the local partner; the purpose was to carry out:

An assessment in each District, using a participatory approach with simple and practical

tools. Discussions focused on the role and importance of social services to bringing

back social cohesion,

An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the various districts,

Mapping of priority activities to be undertaken to improve the existing situation.

With this strategy, satisfactory achievements were gained through the suggested activities which

were shared and approved by the whole group, which means, the end of individual responses to

issues faced by the various social groups.

The methodology was completed by using various technical reports and reports:

- final report on the findings of the last population and household Census in Liberia; River

Gee County Development Agenda,

- Scoping study in Liberia

- The Liberian national Decentralization and Local Development program (LDLD). Additional quantitative surveys in selected households of specific Towns in each District.

II-FINDINGS OF THE ASSESSMENT

2-1. FINDINGS OF THE ASSESSMENT

Born after the breakup of Grand Gedeh, River Gee is one of the new regions of the country

created in the course of year 2000. Its creation was in response to the tensions prevailing in the area

between 1980 and 1990 and involving the Grbo and Krahn ethnical groups. FishTown, the capital

city and Kanweaken (trade focused city) and Webbo (religious city) have the largest number of

population.

With a surface area of 5627 sq, River Gee is in the South of Liberia between Maryland in the South,

Grand Gedeh in the North and Sinoe County in the West. It is limited in the East by Ivory Coast.

River Gee County has six Districts including 140 Towns and a population of approximately 67 318

people. The population density is 34 people per sq.

MAP LOCATING THE RIVER GEE COUNTY

2-1-1 Environment and population

environment: like almost all the Counties in the South of Liberia, River Gee has a semi equatorial

climate with hot and humid temperatures. The two major seasons found are:

a raining season from April to November;

a dry season period, from November to April

Very little temperature variations are noted from one season to the other although they vary

importantly from in daytime and nights. The average rainfall is 107 inches per annum.

The structure of geology and soils in this County is diverse and characterised by uplands,

particularly the Tienpo and Killepo Range mountains which give a natural shape to the County.

Water sources are made up of surface water, water falls which offer a lot of potential.

population: figures of the June 2008 Census provide that the County counts 67 318 people of

whom 53% are men. Although Grebo is the largest ethnical group (92%), other groups exist and

include the Krahn (6%) as well as other minority groups found in Liberia. The County people live

140 Towns and 12 571 households. The annual population growth in the County is 2.2% against an

average of 2.1% nationally. In average, a household has 7 people and the average number of

households per Town is 90.

District

names

Number

of towns

Population Number of

households

GBEPO 13 6 251 2 434

SARBO 31 14 906 973

POTUPO 15 7 213 1 116

TIENPO 22 10 579 2 005

WEBBO 48 23 080 4 844

CHEDEPO 11 5 289 1 198

TOTAL 140 67 318 12 571

The above table shows an uneven distribution of people in the County where the Districts of

Webbo, Gbepo and Tienpo record high concentration of people. This high density of population

creates increasing difficulties in terms of access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation. This situation

is more acute with scattered houses system which does not enable an optimal provision of basic

social services.

8,0%

33,8% 33,8%

23,4%

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

Higher Secondary Primary None

Highest education leval attained by anyone in the H/H

Surveys carried out in 200 households in 29 Towns in the 6 Districts indicate only 23.4%

households have no educated person. Meanwhile, many households have people with secondary

school levels and many others with at least a primary school level. Only 8% of the sample

households have at least one person with a high education level.

2-1-2 Local economy

economic activities: the study shows that more than half of the River Gee County people are

farmers. This is because of the conducive conditions of climate and soils which enable to produce a

variety of crops. But discussions in groups and with resource people in the District showed the

prevalence of subsistence farming but also insufficient agriculture products. Food gathering seems

to a preferred occupation mainly because of the dense forest which offers diverse plant production.

1%

5%

1% 3%12%

14%

55%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Artisan

Stu

den

t

Self-em

plo

yed

Merch

ant/T

rader

Un

emp

loy

ed

Civ

il Serv

ant

Farm

er

Oth

er

Occupation of H/H

Traditional activities including farming, livestock breeding and fishing among others have

developed very little or given insufficient productions. The conducive natural conditions made

people get used to living on food gathering and hunting. The majority of bush animals are edible

like the domestic ones which include goats and sheep, ducks and chickens, cows and others (pigs,

dogs, cats), etc.

Agro-pastoral activities are of a lesser importance to communities because of people’s strong drive

for mining work. Also, the insecurity and poverty tend to lead people to carry out subsistence

farming, mainly in a context where the equipment needed is scarcely available.

District

name

Farming Livestock Fisheries Commerce Artisan Others

GBEPO 80% and 20% Mining None None Business

SARBO

Susamps uplands

81%

Teachers, masons,

Carpenters

Goats,

sheep,

ducks, cows,

pigs,

chickens

None None None

POTUPO

Subsiter farmers

"upland" 90%

Chicken,

ducks,

goats, sheep

and cows

None 2 general market

28 Bussinesses

2%

TIENPO

Susamps 90% 2% goats +

sheet

None Petty to trading

10%

2% drums,

fishing, baskets,

mortals, etc.

WEBBO

Farming 95%

Different occupation

15%

Goats,

sheep,

ducks, cows,

pigs,

chickens,

dogs, cats

5% Sale of rubber

sale of cocoa

sale of cane juice

sale of palm oil

purchases sale of

trial goods

10%

Potery

Soap

making

Tye

dyeing

Black smithing

10%

CHEDEPO Subsistence farming

95%

Goats, sheep None 10% Petty

trading

2% Mining

access to basic social services: the assessment of the equipment level in the County indicates a

high number of water infrastructures, availability of primary schools to a lesser extent and some

rare health centres.

the water facilities listed in the County mainly consist in hand pumps (78) which supply 140

Towns with 70 000 people. In average, one pump supplies 2 Towns, that is, a population

slightly less than 1000 people.

health facilities: these are 17 in total and are made up of health centres and clinics. This

lack is more marked in the Districts of Tienpo and Gbepo with respectively one and two

health structures to be used by a total population of nearly 20 000 people each.

schools: 49primary schools and 3 secondary schools. The population/ number of schools

ration remains low: in average, each District has slightly more than seven primary schools,

which represents one school for more than 3 Towns.

District

name

Services

or

facilities

Description Location Number Water

supply

Sanitation

facilities F NF

GBEPO

WSF 42 pumps Gbeepo District 32 10

Health 1 Healt center

1 clinic

KaweaKen

Pronoken

1

1

School 1 Hight scholl

15 primary school

Gbeepo District 1

15

Commerce A regular market Kaweaken 1

SARBO

WSF Creeks

Rivers

Feld Hand Pumps

Sarbo

District

7

8

6

9

4

3

Health Health Center

3 Clinics

Sarbo Sulenlen

River Gbeh

Gbarro youber

Freedom

1

1

1

1

School 4 primary schools

5 primary school

4 primary school

Sarbo

Rivergbeh

Glarro

4

5

3

1

Commerce Provisional shops

Used clothers

Markets

Both

POTUPO

WSF Hand pump Fish Town

Jepenken

Konken

Gberguieh

21

1

2

1

0

3

1

1

Health Health Center

Clinic

Clinic

Fish Town

Jumpeo

Jepenken

1

1

1

1 hand

pump

1 hand

pump

1 hand

pump

2 latrines

None

None

School Secondary school

5 primary school

Fish Town

Fish Town

Jumpeo

Jepenken

Konken

Jaytoker

2

2

1

1

1

1

Commerce 2 general market

Provision shops,

video, clubs, drugs,

store, etc.

Fish Town

Jaytoker

Fish Town

1

1

28

TIENPO

WSF Hand dug pump Cherboken

Woloken

Jayturken

Gedeken

Sherriken

2

2

2

2

1

Health Health post Cherboken 1 None None

School 6 Primary school Cherboken

Daturken

Jayturken

Saywonken

Nyonken

Manyanken

1

1

1

1

1

1

None None

Commerce None

WEBBO

WSP 5 Creeks Deabo Chiefdom

Nyenels Chiefdom

Geeplaken

Kaibowaitiken

Cheyoken /Kitoken

Health 4 Clinics Abaweleken

Jimmyville

Nyaaken

Taryaken

1

1

1

1

School Secondary schools

5 primary schools

Kandoroken

Kandoroken

Nyaken

Suwloken

Wlegboken

Yarbeken

Nyenebo

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Commerce Market (weekly -

Saturday)

Gbaweleken 1

CHEDEPO

WSP Hand pumps + Water

system non functional

Hand pump

Jarkaken

Putuken

Geeken

Killepo Kanweaken

Klaboken

9

2

3

1

5

+1

1

1

1

Health 3 Clinics Jarkaken

Putuken

Killepo Kanweaken

1

1

1

School 3 Junior High

6 Primary schools

Jarkaken

Putuken

Killepo Kanweaken

Geeken

Klaboken

Cherboken

Seaboken

Torroken

B Jlawroken

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Commerce Market (weekly -

Saturday)

Market

Putuken

Killepo Kanweaken

1

1

poverty assessment: poverty itself is described as being deprived of essential needs -food, housing,

basic social services). This definition of poverty also includes the inability to meet one’s social

obligations. Generally, poverty is a combination of several and interrelated factors. All sample

households of the study are considered as poor although some slight distinctions exist are shown by

the graph below.

Type of household

55%

4 5%

Very poor Poor

Poverty is assessed through many criteria, including the type of houses. In this County, houses are

built with fragile materials, mainly earth (97% households), straw (2%) and wood (1%). This

understanding of poverty comes from respondents who gave their opinions on their precarious socio

economic conditions. Only 2% of the sample households believe they have an average economic

status while 57% say they are extremely poor.

26%

21%

18%

9%

25%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Blind Amputed Lower limb

injury

Spinal cord

injury

Other

Member of your family living with disability

This situation seriously hampers the ability to meet basic needs such has enrolling children at

schools, having access to services like safe water and adequate sanitation, health, etc. Households’

extreme poverty is worsened by the need to take care of some members of family living with

disability. 58% say that the disability in their families is average level while 42% households

responded that in their case, the disability is a marked/severe one.

7 % 2 %

0 %

3 %

16 %

0 %

9 %

2 %0 %

6 %

9 %

1%

2 4 %

9 %

0 %

7 %3 %

1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

GBEP O SARBO P OTUP O TIENP O WEBBO CHEDEP O

Economic situation of the household

Very poor

Poor

Medium

Poverty assessment indicated that the District of Webbo has the largest number of poor people

(33%). This may be due to the fact that Webbo is a commercial centre attracting people who settle

without any mean to live on.

The poverty assessment reveals that disabled and people with HIV/AIDS are the poorest groups.

The disabled people are indeed excluded from the production process and the HIV AIDS people are

marginalised. The survey shows that in 3% of the sample households, there are people living with

HIV AIDS. These people do not have access to resources and this contributes to the degradation of

their social conditions.

Therefore, and as part of the poverty control in this County, it is necessary to develop programmes

targeting the vulnerable groups in order to promote local development which is consistent and

sustainable.

INSERT MAP ON EQUIPMENT

2-1-3 Major stakeholders at local level

Institutionally, the management of the County is relatively decentralised through the following

structure mandated by the Government:

a Superintendant to manage the administrative issues of the County with the support of

his/her assistant and commissioners of Districts and townships.

civil servants sent by their line ministries to the County and Districts.

elected staff including the Mayor, heads of the clan, Paramount chiefs and General town

chiefs. The post conflict situation and re structuring of the country did not allow for the

organisation of elections to replace or extend this staff.

Local associations: nor many associations are found in River Gee County and Districts like Webbo

and Tienpo do not have any. Organisations identified in the other Districts can be split into two

main categories:

organisations with a focus on social and economic issues: these include the development

committee of Sarbo, Brothers association in Potupo and the Youth association in Gbeapo.

They work for sustainable peace, security and poverty control in a broader sense.

management committees: these include only the supervision committee of pumps in

Chedepo in charge of pump repair and maintenance among others. Repair works are

possible with the funds collected with pump users.

District

Name

Cbos Location Date of

creation

Profile of

members

Domain of

intervention

Activities Partnership

GBEPO Gbeapo Youth association

Gpeapo *** Youth mixt Resolution conflict

None

SARBO Committee for

development

Sarbo

Woffiken

Clearn the

towns

None

POTUPO Brothers association

Potupo Men Development farm

None

TIENPO None

WEBBO None

CHEDEPO

Pump controlling

commettees

Chedepo *** Take good care of the pumps

Clearn around the pump

Repear the pump

None

partnerships: like with associations, the partnership network is also weak and includes:

German Agro Action (GAA): with a 5 year period of intervention GAA works in all six

Districts of the County. Its intervention areas range from hardware (construction of schools,

pumps, latrines and road rehabilitation) to support with agriculture equipment and materials.

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) works in education sector (school built in the District of

Potupo), safe water sector (pumps in the District of Potupo) and agriculture (provision of

production materials to farmers in the Districts of Potupo and Sarbo). The DRC intervention

period in this County is 5 years.

Liberia Agro System (LAS): LAS has a 2-year intervention period to work in a) agriculture

sector through provision of materials to farmers from the District of Potupo and b) education

through construction of school in the District de Gbeapo.

Gbeapo District has other partners working in various sectors:

o WATSAN, with Red Cross to build latrines and pumps for 3 years,

o Health with MECED which supported the construction of a health centre,

o Environment with REDES to construct bridges,

o Education with Diakona which built a school,

o food security with Catholic Relief Service (CRS).

District

name

Partners

(NGOs,

Projects …)

Domain of

intervention

Beneficiar

ies

Projects

realized

Community

contribution Location

Duration of

intervention

GBEPO

CRS Agriculture tool

Food supply Farmers Swamp farming

Work /apply

labour 2005-2009

Diakona School contribution Students School Digs and park rocks

6 months (2009)

GAA Road rehabilitation

Bridge population

Road

Bridge 2007-2009

REDES Bridges Population Road

bridge 2007-2009

MECED Medical supply Population Health center

6 months

LACE Construction of

school Students school

6 months

RED-CROSS Water and sanitation population Latrine and hand

pump 3 years

SARBO

GAA

Education

Agriculture

Water supply

Students

Farmers

population

School

Tools

Hand pumps

Work

5 years

Danish Refugee

Council (DRC) Agriculture Farmers Agricultural tools Work

5 years

POTUPO

Danish Refugee

Council (DRC)

Education

Agriculture Water supply

Students

Farmers population

School

Tools Hand pumps

Work

3 years

GAA

Education

Agriculture

Latrine

Students

Farmers

population

School

Tools

Pit latrines

Work

10 years

Liberia Agro

System (LAS) Agriculture Farmers Agricutural tools Work

2 years

TIENPO

GAA Road rehabilitation population Rehabilitation 9

miles of road Work

1 year

LACE Education Students One school Manpower Jagtunken 3 years

GAA Road rehabilitation population Rehabilitation

5miles of road Work

6 months

Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Water supply Population One hand pump Work

6 months

WEBBO German Agro

Action (GAA)

Education

Agriculture Water supply

Students

Farmers population

School

Tools Hand pumps

Work

5 years

CHEDEP

O

German Agro Action (GAA)

Education

Agriculture

Water supply

Students

Farmers

population

School

Tools

Hand pumps

Work

5 years

2-2 WATER, HYGIÈNE AND SANITATION ISSUE

The scoping study carried out in Liberia reveals that the water, hygiene and sanitation sector faces a

lot of challenges including the lack of a ministry or agency in charge of the sector and the

fragmented management of this sector at national level. On water, hygiene and sanitation issues,

there is no relationship between the national level, the County authorities and the Districts. The

In addition to their statutory mission of maintaining peace and ensuring stability and security of people and

their goods, the UN forces also support communities to improve their lives and environment through

hardware and fighting food insecurity.

situation is more acute as the sector management structures at the County level lack capacities and

means to fulfil their responsibilities. Sector policies are being developed and the labour ministry has

been identified to lead on the implementation of the PRS. Unlike the water and sanitation sector,

clear guidelines exist for the roads. Other relevant issues include equity and inclusion but also the

sustainability of water and sanitation facilities

2-2-1 Safe water

The access rate to water in the River Gee County is very low and according to the River Gee

County Development Agenda, in 2007, there were 58 functioning pumps supplying 50605 people.

This represents one pump for every 872 inhabitants. The June 2008 Census indicates that the

County numbers 67318 people, which corresponds to nearly 900 people for every single pump.

Compared to 2007, this ratio has fallen as a result of factors like the population growth and

insufficient number of water facilities constructed.

MAP OF THE WATER FACILITIES

The River Gee County Development Agenda states that the County access rate to safe water is

about 13%.

In Liberia, we note a low utilisation of safe water points which is the result of satisfactory

hydrological conditions. The survey findings reveal that households’ supply sources are made up of

hand dug wells, ponds rain water, rivers and streams among others. Unlike 18% households who

find it difficult to access to these sources, 82% of the sample households say that these sources are

easily accessible.

4%

13%14%

14%

22%

33%

2%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Ponds Traditional Rain water Unlined

hand dug

well

Rivers Streams Others

Primary source of water

Almost all the households have these water supply sources nearby houses – less than 50 m (half of

them are even less than 10m distant). But the dense forests and difficult topography of the area do

not make the travelling of people easy.

Distances Frequency

1 - 3m 24% Time taken Frequency

4 - 6m 24% 1-3h 93%

7 - 10m 13% 3-5h 3%

10 - 20m 7% 5-6h 0%

20-30m 8% Above 6h 4%

30-50m 14% TOTAL 100%

Above 50m 11%

TOTAL 100%

Water is used to meet both domestic and livestock needs. Sources depend on the type of use made

of the water. People use water from pumps close to them to meet their drinking purposes and this

brings about some households spending a lot of time before being supplied.

1% 1% 1%

9%

23%

45%

20%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Rain water Small town

water

system

(stand

pipes)

Protection

spring

Borehole

with hand

pump

Improved

hand dug

well with

rope and

bucket

Improved

hand dug

well with

hand pumps

Others

Improved water sources

People prefer wells fitted with pumps because these are in a greater number. On the other hand,

boreholes and other safe water supply sources are less numerous even though communities value

them as well. Also, functioning of these pumps is a challenge considering that 40 in the 117 pumps

are not working

In any case, the study shows that those supplied by the safe water points bring their financial

contributions for maintenance/repair of the water facilities. 27 sample households say they pay for

the water and no arrangement is made in favour of people with disability. Meanwhile, their

contribution to build/repair the facilities can be in cash or kind.

The study reveals the presence of a committee to manage the safe water points. 63% people

interviewed believe that this committee which also comprises disabled people fulfils its mandate of

managing water points even if pump breakdowns are recurrent as indicate the tables below.

How long Frequency

How often Frequency Within a week 19%

Weekly 12% Up to a month 27%

Monthly 39% More than three months 17%

Yearly 35% More than six months 16%

Other 14% Never 6%

TOTAL 100% Other 16%

TOTAL 100%

Recurrent break downs which sometimes can last more than 6 months do not facilitate satisfactory

water supply of River Gee County communities. This situation encourages more the communities to

using the many unsafe sources which do not require any financial contribution.

2-2-2 Access to sanitation infrastructures

With 14%, the latrine coverage in River Gee County is obviously low. According to the River Gee

County Development Agenda, in year 2007, the ratio was one latrine for every 8434 people. In the

districts of Webbo, Sarbo, Potupo and Tienpo, no latrine was identified during the survey. This

represents 4 in the 6 districts of the River Gee County. But some improvements were seen with the

support of development partners. Indeed, the research shows that 41% households have their own

latrines which are used by 47% of them less than two years ago. The latrines are overused as only

18% households have these facilities utilised by less than 10 people. This situation leads 3% of the

sample to practice open air defecation. Both healthy and disabled people use latrines when available

in their households. The under five children use pots or resort to open air defecation practice.

Type of latrine Frequence What sort of subsidy Frequence

Improved latrine 20% Cash 5%

Ventilated improved 58% Labour 44%

Pour flush 20% Materials 10%

Water system 1% Other 41%

TOTAL 100% TOTAL 100%

The majority of latrines are either ventilated or improved and 45% of the sample households have

acquired these facilities through the support of development partners. The support provided was

technical and in kind even though 5% of the sample households said their latrines have been

subsidised.

20%

50%

9%4% 3%

0%14%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

2,000-5,000 6,000-10,000 11,000-

15,000

16,000-

20,000

21,000-

25,000

26,000-

30,000

Above

30,000

How much did it cost to build the latrine

55% households said they paid for the construction of their latrines and the cost range from 2000 to

35000 Liberian dollars.

2-2-3 Linkages between water, hygiene and sanitation

In general, hygiene conditions are dependent upon the quality of water used in the households but

also on the behaviours of people regarding the hygiene practices. Our analysis will therefore focus

on the uses of water and the households’ practices on hygiene and sanitation.

In the County, many practices and behaviours (on hygiene and water supply) have been identified

which affect people’s health. For instance, latrines in half of the households we visited are cleaned

once a week and even monthly. As users of these latrines are many, these attitudes can bring the

spread of diseases like diarrhoea. Also, the lack of safe water points in many Towns of the County

compels a lot of people to using unsafe sources including rivers, ponds and streams and this causes

water related diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, etc.

Furthermore, low sanitation coverage, predominance of traditional latrines and the use of defecation

areas which fail to meet hygiene standards (90% of respondents say that children resort to open air

defecation) contribute to degradation of environment and people’s health conditions in this County.

0% 1%3%

6%

31%

59%

0,4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Peer

promotion

Television Newspaper School Radio Volunter

hygiene

promoters

Other

Where did you receive these messages

To address this situation, there is an urgent need to significantly increase the water and sanitation

infrastructures in the County. Sensitisation campaigns on hygiene practices also need to be

strengthened considering that 87% respondents said they have been sensitised/trained on hygiene

promotion.

How often do you wash your hands Fréquence How do you wash your hands Fréquence

After using the latrine 15% Using water only 10%

After eating 15% Using soap/ash and water 82%

Before eating 19% Using sand/soil and water 1%

Before feeding o child 14% Other 8%

After cleaning up a child who defecated 14% TOTAL 100%

After doing any household chore 9% Can you wash your hands unaided Fréquence

After visiting the hospital 7% Yes 88%

Other 8% No 12%

TOTAL 100% TOTAL 100%

These training/sensitisation sessions have had a positive impact on the behaviour of 83%

households regarding hand washing. 83% households use containers which have lids to carry

their water. Lids used are mostly in plastic matter (75%), aluminium 4%, wood, etc. Though a

household may use water from ponds, rivers or streams but 15% have separate containers for

safe water and for water collected from unsafe sources.

Inappropriate practices prevail when it comes to water collection and use, but also in terms of

use of sanitation infrastructures and applying hygiene rules. This accounts for the prevalence of

diarrhoea disease of the under five. Diarrhoea is experienced by 84% households since 10% of

these said that their children faced at least 6 bouts of diarrhoea over a three month period. In the

same period, 11% households recorded 4 to 6 diarrhoea bouts, 79% experienced diarrhoea

between 1 to 3 times.

52% households send their people suffering from diarrhoea to health centres while respectively

15% and 11% households use re hydration and self treatment.

Failure to comply with hygiene rules causes degradation of environment and the spread of

diseases including malaria, diarrhoea, etc. The County authorities must therefore build sanitation

infrastructures, organise sensitisation campaigns aimed at drawing communities’ attention on the

need to apply hygiene practices and rules.

2-3 SUMMARY OF THE ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

With a surface area of 5627 sq, River Gee is in the South of Liberia between Maryland in the South,

Grand Gedeh in the North and Sinoe County in the West. It is limited in the East by Ivory Coast.

River Gee County has six Districts including 140 Towns and a population of approximately 67 318

people. The population density is 34 people per sq. The County population is unevenly distributed.

Indeed, three in the six districts are heavily populated. This situation brings about challenges in the

access to basic social services mainly with the scattered or linear housing system.

Economy wise, the primary sector activities, that is, agriculture, fishing and livestock breeding are

not well developed. This situation is not only due to the natural resource potential which enable the

development of hunting, food gathering and mining but also to the fact that communities are poor

and cannot afford the equipment required for agro pastoral activities.

Generally, poverty is a combination of several and interrelated factors, including access to basic

social services. Yet, the survey reveals a low access rate of the County people to these services. To

improve this situation, there are many development partners working in the County

Also, the assessment shows a lack of organisation of community members. As this compromises the

sustainability of facilities, it is necessary to revive the social dynamics without which, the

functionality of basic social services will be affected as well as the access rate to the water and

sanitation infrastructures. The result of all this is the occurrence of bad hygiene practices which

breed water related diseases.

The assessment brought out the following strengths of the County:

rich land with abundant gold and diamond

a dense forest,

water resources including rivers and streams, etc

The above assets are complemented by other real strengths including among others, the presence of

farmers and mining people to promote local economy. But development goes through improved

living conditions which are still characterised by:

lack of means of communication and transport,

lack of electricity and bad state if roads,

inadequate sanitation and prevalence of unsafe water ,

the limited number of public infrastructures on health and education,

laziness of some people,

division/disunity, lack of communication and cooperation

III- STRATEGIC ORIENTATIONS

The County water and sanitation plan is a long term strategic planning document including priority

activities which are clearly set by communities and aimed at improving the access to safe water and

sanitation infrastructures and hygiene promotion. This plan is therefore a reference document in the

hand of development partners to implement their action plans in the relevant sectors.

3-1 KEY DÉVELOPMENT AREAS

The assessment carried out has helped in identifying some actions deemed necessary to improve the

access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation infrastructures. These actions are translated into three

major strategic areas:

promote access to safe water sources;

improve access to private and public sanitation infrastructures;

sensitise and train community members.

The above orientations are inter-related and their implementation will make it possible to achieve

the objectives set by the County regarding improved living conditions of its people

3-1-1 Priority areas for improved access to WATSAN infrastructures

The River Gee County faces many constraints, mainly in terms of inadequate access to water,

hygiene and sanitation facilities. To remove such constraints and promote the socio-economic

development of the County, local stakeholders have identified priority actions. Three main strategic

priorities are identified in relation to the access to safe water and sanitation:

improving access to safe water,

improving access to sanitation infrastructures and hygiene promotion,

strong democracy at local level and promote group/collective activities.

These strategic orientations are interdependent and their implementation will enable an integrated

development, as stated in objective 7 of the MDGs which reads “without hygiene and sanitation

facilities, safe water is less conducive to good health”

3-1-2 Challenges in carrying out development priorities:

River Gee County faces a number of challenges including:

WATER

limited number of safe water points in the County;

lack of safe water points in many Towns of the Districts of the County;

low functionality level of pumps, mainly in the Districts of Sarbo, Chedepo and Gbépo;

the distance and difficult access to most safe water sources

HYGIENE/SANITATION

low latrine coverage;

limited number of the public latrines;

prevalence of bad hygiene practices and behaviours

DIVISION AND LACK OF COMMUNICATION

marked individualism;

lack of local initiatives for development;

low understanding of the place and importance of safe water and sanitation infrastructures

3-2 ACTIONS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION STRATÉGIES

Actions needed: the various strategic objectives identified by communities during the participatory

assessment have been translated into development actions.

activities related to water:

build appropriate pumps,

encourage partners to invest in the country, mainly in the water and sanitation sector,

ask national authorities to prioritise the water and sanitation sector in the political vision.

activities related to hygiene/sanitation:

encourage and support construction of household latrines,

sensitise people on how to use latrines,

sensitise people for behaviour change on hygiene and sanitation

activities related to good governance:

strengthen collective activities,

Promote local development,

encourage partners to invest in the country

promote local initiatives.

Implementation strategies: implementation of the plan perfectly fits with the desire and will for

the country reconstruction and promotion of peace which necessarily goes through social cohesion

and unity of people but also building their capacity. That is why resource persons from the County

decided to focus the orientation on the following:

effectively involve communities in the implementation of local development projects

train and sensitise people on effective and efficient management of public projects,

Promote social cohesion and implement development strategies drawing from local

initiatives,

Promote local development structures which can design appropriate development projects,

organise and facilitate meetings aimed at strengthening social cohesion and develop

implementation strategies of such projects,

Promote dialogue, radio and TV messages as well as sensitisation sessions.

The implementation will focus on the creation and strengthening of active and transparent

partnerships enabling all local players to help achieve the objectives set in the plan. Also, the

County populations will be organised to request support from development partners. Effective

partnerships mechanisms should enable strengthening of structures gathering various socio

professional groups of the County. To this effect, making strategies for sustainable development

available through development partners -NGOs, projects/programmes with a focus on local

communities will provide consultation frameworks for the human and financial resources needed to

implement the plan. Finally, partnership should be developed with the key stakeholders comprising,

local people and other players in charge of organising or funding activities of the former.

District

name

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Actions to be undertaken Implementing strategies

GBEPO

1°)Farming

2°) Mining

3°) Business

1) Lack of good network

2) Lack of communication

3) Limited health services

4) Poor sanitation

1) Forest

2) Rivers

3) Schools

4) Health

1) We need Unity

2) Organized self-help projects

3) Seeking support from donor

for adequate water supply

1) Total involvement of

communities members in

projects

2) Training of manpower to

manage public projects

SARBO

1) School

2) Health

3) Shop

4) Market

1) Transportation

2) Lack of communications

1) Creeks

2) Forest

3) River

1) To work in groups

2) Unity

1) Medical care

2) Feeding

3) Labor cost

POTUPO

1) Forest

2) Rivers

3) Health facilities

4) Gold mining

1) Disunity

2) Inacessibility of roads

3) Electricity

4) Low employment

opportunity

5) Unstandoydize school

system

6) Unsafe drinking water and

lack of latrines

1) Forest

2) Food

production

3) Mineral

resources (gold,

diamond, etc.)

1 Coming together in unity

2) Undertake development

initiative

3) Encourage international

partners and investors in the

employment of our citizens

4) Establish standardize

supervisory school system

1) Coming together as a group

to strategize in implementing

development initiative

2) Establish development

committee to identify needed

projects, hold meetings and

strategize how to undertake

these projects

TIENPO

1) Human resource

2) We are hard working

3) We are united or

together

4) We have a rich soil

5) We have natural

resources

1) Inaccessibility / land lack

2) No road or farm to market

road

3) Mass unemployment

4) Lack of education facilities

5) Lack of health facilities

1) Availability

2) Manpower

(large population)

3) Potential

(ability and

capability to

work)

1) Appealing to NGO's

2) Appealing to national

government

3) Community initiatives

1 Dialogue

2) Radio drama

3) Workshop

WEBBO

1) Forest

2) Rivers

3) Hospital

4) Market building

5) School building

1) Inaccessibility

2) Unwillingness to work

3) Lack of communication

4) Lack of cooperation

5) Lack of farming

implements

1) Rivers

2) Sand

3) Skilled

manpower

4) Schools

5) Minerals

1) Economies empowerment

2) Follow-up actions

3) Sensitizations

1) Vocational training

2) Micro credit

3) To be unified

4) Investment opportunities

5) Willingness to work

together

CHEDEPO

1) Human resource

2) Hard working

3) Unity /Togetherness

4) Soil

5) Resources

1) Availability

2) Potential

3) Manpower

1) Farm to market

road

2) Unemployment

3) Inaccessibility

4) Lack of

education facility

1) Appealing to NGO's /

International NGO for projects

2) Appealing to government for

projects

3) Community initiatives

1) Workshop

2) Dialogue /sensitization

3) Radio drama