VANUATU: WORLD FIRST DISPOSABLE NAPPY BAN

Vanuatu is setting out to become the first nation to ban disposable nappies.

With an estimated 20,000 babies and toddlers on Vanuatu’s 65 islands, disposable nappies are the single largest contributing item to waste in Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila.

And their disposal in rural and remote areas is handled in ways that sometimes are as potentially damaging to a communities’ health as open defecation.

The disposable nappy ban was set to roll out between November 2019 and December of 2020 as a significant step to promoting critically needed good sanitation and hygiene outcomes and to combat waste pollution, and its contributing role in the Climate Crisis.

CYCLONE HAROLD AND COVID-19 IMPACT THE BAN ROLL OUT

The wide range of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) models that exist across Vanuatu – from urban, and peri-urban to rural and remote locations – means that implementation of the roll-out would have its complexities. In addition, as the ban would disproportionately impact on working women, a stepped and evolved roll-out would be needed in order to address community concerns.

These factors were however severely compounded by the almost parallel impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Tropical Cyclone Harold which made landfall in Vanuatu in April, affecting more than 159,000 lives.

Given these factors, the ban timeline has been understandably extended.

EWB sees an important opportunity to support local government and NGO rollout of the proposed ban as and when it can be prioritised. This builds on the past two years’ of work that EWB has conducted alongside Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health (MoH) to develop Vanuatu’s sanitation guidelines, as part of the Sanitation in Challenging Environments (SCE) program.

In order to support the nappy ban, EWB is currently focused on the development of a system to quickly and effectively wash reusable nappies without an electric washing machine and a system to ensure the hygienic treatment of the water used to wash the nappies.

EWB AND MAMA’S LAEF

EWB started working with Mama’s Laef in September 2020. Mama’s Laef is a social enterprise owned by Jack and Mary from Pango Village, South Efate. The couple manufacture women’s menstrual pads and children’s washable nappies from a home factory. Earlier this year these products were sent to Santo as part of relief supply kits after cyclone Harold devastated local communities.

In order to support the implementation of the second phase ban of single-use plastic items including non-biodegradable disposable nappies, EWB is focused on working with Mama’s Laef as they incorporate inputs from the MoH and other key stakeholders. The aim is to provide complimentary assistance to the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC) by finding improved practical solutions.

THE TUMBLE DRUM PROJECT

Given inconsistent access to power across the many dispersed communities, villages and islands that make up Vanuatu, a practical way to provide safe, hygienic and water-efficient cleaning of reusable nappies will be key to the successful rollout of the nappy ban.

Which is where the Tumble Drum Project comes in.

After consultation with community and focus groups, the collected data fed into the design of a Non-Electric Washing Machine, including the identification of project requirements and specifications.

A prototype will be rolled out in 2021 within these same communities in order to test the design, iterate, and ultimately scale the technology.

AFTA survey – reusable nappies on clothesline

WHY IT MATTERS: SAFE SANITATION

With diarrhoeal disease one of the biggest killers of children under five in the world, getting this right will be critical across Vanuatu and especially for outlying communities.

The greatest challenge is the safe disposal of wastewater containing infant faeces. Infant faecal germs and bacteria can cause diarrhea and other chronic illnesses which in turn can become a threat to public health if not successfully addressed.

EWB is working alongside technical and research teams to come up with improved practices for disposing this kind of wastewater.

Sanitation management practices and ideas are discussed with communities as part of the project. Another benefit of the project is the potential of start-up laundry businesses which may become viable for some community groups or individuals with the advent of the new Non-Electric Washing Machine.

EWB’s Vanuatu Program is supported by the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), funded by the Australian Government, as well as the New Zealand Aid Programme and generous donors.

Please support EWB’s international work.

The post Vanuatu: World First Disposable Nappy Ban appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

Preventable diarrhoeal disease remains the second biggest killer of children under the age of 5 worldwide.

Many communities live where conventional, affordable and easy-to-construct pit latrines are not a viable solution. EWB’s SCE program, or Sanitation in Challenging Environments, seeks to provide solutions for communities in these environments. A recent piece of research has provided invaluable insights into a particularly challenging environment: Sanitation in hard rock environments.

Hard Rock Challenges

Communities living in hard rock, or hard clay and soil areas, face particular and unique challenges.

This type of terrain prevents the use of a conventional pit latrine because it is extremely difficult to dig in. This challenge is compounded by the fact that fractures in rock and hard soil allow the faster flow of liquids. It means effluent does not slowly leach into the soil, instead, it can travel many metres in a minute, risking the contamination of local water sources.

Without practical hard rock technologies, Cambodian communities are exposed to diarrhoeal diseases. These diseases, even when not deadly, can cause chronic lifelong developmental challenges. And this in turn can play a role in causing isolation and limiting access to education for children.

The EWB / E4C Report

The Sanitation In Challenging Environments In Cambodia: Appropriate Sanitation Solutions Hard Rock Areas in Rural Cambodia project, co-delivered by EWB Australia and Engineering For Change (E4C), carried out much-needed research in this space.

E4C has a great track record advocating for the role of engineering in sustainable development. Working alongside them has been a great opportunity to enhance EWB’s work. They bring together researchers from around the world to power a Knowledge Sharing Hub with global reach, and provide a critical platform for the dissemination of appropriate technologies and knowledge.

The research, led by E4C fellows Jonathan Truslove (a Scotland-based engineering researcher) and Thomas Da Jose, a University of Technology Sydney engineering alumni and current Project Manager at Aecom, Sydney. The work identified a series of different technologies that may be appropriate for hard rock environments and the factors that will allow them to scale. As such, it provides a critical foundation on which EWB can trial and develop technologies that will enable access to sanitation in many hard rock and ground areas.

The recently published full report can be viewed here.

World Toilet Day: Effecting Critical Change

World Toilet Day is a day to acknowledge this simple fact: Successful solutions for hard-rock sanitation would mean a reduction in mortality rates in vulnerable communities, a reduction in medical costs for families and an increase in the health of children, physically and socially.

Being able to co-publish research through E4C’s platform is just one of the benefits of this new relationship.

In the long term, working with E4C presents exciting opportunities to champion the consideration of SDGs within the global agenda.

We look forward to collaborating with E4C on more impactful research projects in the coming year, to broadening the range of work we do together, and to supporting the engineering sector as it assumes a necessary leadership role in sustainable development.

This World Toilet Day you can support EWB’s work with communities dealing with SCE here

Learn more about EWB’s Influencer Fellowship program and opportunities to participate in the global Engineering for Change Fellowship.

EWB’s international program is supported by the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and generous donors.

Featured image: EWB and International Development Enterprises (iDE) technical team working with Australian Field Professional Volunteers – work recognised as vital this World Toilet Day. Source: All Seasons Upgrade (ASU) Project.

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