Tanzanian pastoralists’ water, sanitation & hygiene needs

The policy brief Understanding pastoralists and their water, sanitation and hygiene needs (2011, 8pp) summarises the findings from a literature review and research carried out by WaterAid in Longido and Hanang Districts in northern Tanzania. Pastoralists depend on water for sustaining herds, as well as for their own health and survival. Policymakers and practitioners in the water sector have given little attention to water for livestock. Sometimes, permanent water sources have been constructed that do not meet community needs and that conflict with the movement patterns of the pastoralists and their livestock. Hygiene and sanitation projects have usually been regarded as impossible in view of the pastoralists’ mobile lifestyle. This brief recognises the rationale of pastoral livelihood systems and calls for further research and support to develop water supply, sanitation and hygiene solutions that are in harmony with these systems.

Posted on 6 December 2015 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition