Mozambique Wins Innovation Challenge With Proposal to Upgrade Resilient Women-Led Sanitation Marketing

By: Wonder Mafuta, WV-Mozambique WASH Team Leader. 

World Vision Mozambique has been announced as a winner of the Sanitation Innovation Challenge with its proposal Upgrading Resilient Women-Led Sanitation Marketing (URWOSAM).
In a context where rural sanitation remains largely a household responsibility, this initiative seeks to empower women to build affordable, durable, desirable, and climate-resilient latrines that improve family well-being.

Background

In Mozambique, household sanitation is predominantly the responsibility of women. This burden is even heavier in the 70% of households that are women-headed, as many men migrate to neighboring South Africa in search of economic opportunities.

For more than 20 years, World Vision Mozambique, together with partners, has promoted positive sanitation and hygiene practices across rural communities. The Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach increased demand but often resulted in temporary latrines that collapsed within months due to recurrent flooding, cyclones, and sandy or loamy soils.

The URWOSAM project addresses these challenges by strengthening resilience, skills, and economic opportunities for women in rural areas.

What the URWOSAM project aims to achieve

• Empower women as agents of change:
  Beyond promoting hygiene and reducing disease risks, the project fosters women’s economic independence through training and income-generating opportunities. It enhances their leadership roles and influence within their communities.
• Promote good health and hygiene:
  Women are trained to market sanitation products while spreading messages that encourage healthy behaviours.
• Build climate-resilient infrastructure:
  Women are trained as masons and sanitation marketers, lining pits, fabricating slabs, constructing structures, and roofing. These improved latrines are designed to withstand climate shocks and reduce collapse risks in flood-prone or clay-soil areas.
• Generate sustainable income:
  Through the skills acquired, business management, marketing, and construction—women can earn income from customer payments and strengthen their economic resilience.
• Encourage local fabrication and construction:
  On-site production lowers logistical costs and reduces reliance on sanitation materials from distant towns.

A community-wide effort

URWOSAM is not just a project, it is a program designed to benefit every household in the community, promoting dignity, health, and sustainable livelihoods.