Beyond CLTS: Learnings from Apolou’s Community-Led Total Sanitation Plus (CLTS+) Approach

This learning brief is part of a series bringing together experiences and lessons learned from the Apolou Resilience Food Security Activity (2017—2023). The briefs are designed for practitioners, including local government representatives, civil society organizations, and other actors working on issues related to climate change, water point sustainability and management, and sanitation.

This learning brief highlights the lessons learned Apolou’s sanitation and hygiene strategies including the use of light and heavy touch activities blending Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Sanitation Marketing (SanMark), and the Clean Household Approach (CHA). Most notably, when communities had a blend of all three approaches the number of days from triggering to open defecation-free certification reduced by 55% (from 720 days to 322 days). The learnings highlight the importance of multi-sectoral programming; integration, layering, and sequencing; and opportunities to adapt CLTS strategies. Future programs in Karamoja would do well to focus on latrine coverage and use rather than open defecation alone; embed latrine savings schemes into saving groups; and employ holistic market-based approaches.

To learn more about the Apolou RFSA, check out the additional briefs below:

• Learning from Different Models to Address Water Point Management in Karamoja: Apolou’s Integrated Community-Based Management System Plus (ICBMS+) Approach
• Gardening Under Drought Conditions: Using the Permagarden Approach to Improve Food Security and Income Generation for Mother Care Group Participants in Karamoja