Technical Brief: WASH Business Centres

Because of challenges with water point functionality and low rates of basic household sanitation (7%) and hygiene (8%), World Vision Ethiopia introduced WASH Business Centres (WBCs), a one stop center for production, distribution, and sale of essential products for constructing WASH facilities (e.g., latrine slabs) and performing key behaviors (e.g., liquid soap for handwashing).

Monitoring data show that over an average operating period of three years, 16 WBCs reached 88,000 households, with total profit of $40,000. World Vision conducted a survey of 1,586 households within 5 kilometers of a WBC to understand household WASH conditions, awareness of and experiences with WBCs, and to assess willingness and ability to pay for WASH products and services. The study also considered what combination of coverage, marketing, product line up, and financing would need to be strengthened to reach universal WASH service coverage