Assessing the Impact of Improved Sanitation on the Health and Happiness of a West African Local Population: Concepts and Research Methodology

Worldwide, nearly 90% of child deaths due to diarrhea have been attributed to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. Furthermore, in developing countries, 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation facilities. In a collaborative project between Japan and Burkina Faso (Améli-Eaur Project, 2010–2015), we have installed composting toilets in pilot households in three rural villages near Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. For local farmers, we have promoted a breakthrough agro-sanitation business model that involves using fertilizer in human excreta form to grow vegetables for sale in the local market. In the next step, we intend to assess the composting toilet’s impact on the local population’s health and quality of life (QOL). We will conduct a comparison survey of households and villages where composting toilets have and have not been installed. The survey will cover the following three topics: (1) Lifestyle and Water Use; (2) Health and Nutrition; and (3) Happiness and Well-Being. We hope to demonstrate that improvements in health and QOL are crucial to the success and sustainability of composting toilet sanitation programs implemented in local West African communities