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Promoting Rural Sanitation and Hygiene in Morocco
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In rural provinces in Morocco, sanitation coverage is low compared to the relatively high standards of social development. To address these issues the Moroccan government has developed the Rural Water and Sanitation Project for which the World Bank has provided a $60 million IBRD loan. Within this project, a $4.42 million component specifically addresses hygiene promotion and sanitation. The World Bank has provided technical assistance to the Moroccan Government through the Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Support Service (SWAT) to design the sanitation component. The technical assistance and the subsequent work by ONEP have contributed to deepening the understanding of rural hygiene and sanitation needs in Morocco. The technical assistance has also helped to clarify responsibilities in the sector and to develop decision making tools. |
 Morocco:
At A Glance | Population: 30.6 million(57% Urban; 43% Rural; 2% Annual Growth Rate
Surface area: 446,600 km2
Life expectancy: 69 years
GNI Per Capita: 1,520 USD
HDI Ranking: 124 out of 177
Below Poverty Line: 13%
Improved Water Access: 80%
Improved Sanitation Access: 62% | 
Doaur of Chtauoma:
Grey water is discharged from homes into the street
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BACKGROUND | Morocco's 13 million rural inhabitants have often been the focus of the national development agenda. However, Morocco still has one of the lowest rural water supply and sanitation access rates in the Middle East and North Africa: 56% for rural water supply and 35% for rural sanitation. This means that nearly two in three rural Moroccans do not have access to technologies such as the poor flush latrine (pictured here).
To address these issues the Moroccan government has developed the Rural Water and Sanitation Project. In 2005, the World Bank provided a $60 million IBRD loan in support of the project. Within this project, a $4.42 million component specifically addresses hygiene promotion and sanitation. |
SANITATION AND HYGIENE SERVICES: A STRUCTURAL GAP | The Office National de l’Eau Potable (ONEP) is responsible for water supply in the whole country. It also is responsible for sewerage facilities in some cities. In rural areas, however, it only has a mandate for water supply service. Municipalities are responsible for rural sanitation, but they lack both the financial and technical capacity. As a result, there is a tendency to neglect hygiene and sanitation in rural areas. In order to reap all of the benefits provided by safe water, the World Bank is supporting Morocco in its effort to raise awareness about sanitation and hygiene among key stakeholders. The objective is to give rural sanitation a higher ranking on the national agenda, leading to an increase in coverage, more reliable operation, and improved hygiene education. | 
Municipality of Khenichet:
Sewage is discharged
into the river |
FOCUS ON DEMAND | Due to limited understanding of the benefits, low demand is often a critical issue for rural sanitation projects.
To guarantee suitability and sustainability of sanitation interventions, the Rural Water and Sanitation Project pays special attention to assessing and meeting demand at all levels.
The project focuses on how to expand sanitation services while maintaining a sound financial basis for financially autonomous operators.
The sanitation component of the project is thus committed to:
 Consider demand at the household and community level;
Focus on health improvement for the people living in households and in the villages; Promote community participation; Consider social, cultural and religious matters as part of the project; Cover all the sanitation needs, including excreta, grey water (sullage) and wastewater; also drainage where appropriate; Consider the present separate management of grey water and toilet waste as an advantage; Prioritize any opportunity for direct economic benefits, such as reuse, either from effluent or side-products (compost).
At the institutional level, the project is: Applying technical incentives: adequate sullage management is an eligibility criterion for individual household connection to the water supply network | TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE | The World Bank is supporting the Moroccan government to create an enabling institutional framework to reach the sanitation MDG in rural areas. Part of this support has been through technical assistance from the Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Support Service (SWAT). Specifically this assistance has helped to:
The World Bank is supporting the Moroccan government to create an enabling institutional framework to reach the sanitation MDG in rural areas. Part of this support has been through technical assistance from the Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Support Service (SWAT). Specifically this assistance has helped to:
Raise awareness and clarify the challenges to be met in rural sanitation; Point out the benefits, to the population and to institutions, provided by sanitation; Define the responsibilities of all stakeholders, so as to confirm their mandate and simplify their commitment and management. Develop decision-making tools for stakeholders, both on methodology (participatory approach) and appropriate technologies (low-cost and on-site sanitation).
ONEP has adopted the decision tools and is committed to realize pilot projects in rural sanitation in parallel with water supply projects.
Moreover, ONEP has identified the benefit of including the sanitation component in its participatory approach for water supply projects, since it contributes to the quality of service it provides to the users.
ONEP is also developing information tools to promote the good use of water, which is directly related to good sanitation. The SWAT technical assistance forms he basis for an effective implementation of the $4.42 million sanitation component of the Rural Water supply and Sanitation Project.
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Widening Participation | The technical assistance and the subsequent work by ONEP have contributed to deepening the understanding of rural hygiene and sanitation needs in Morocco. However, there is still much to achieve before reaching the Millennium Development Goals.
The SWAT technical assistance has identified complementary projects including raising awareness among the population, capacity building, and support for communities in the construction and operation of individual on-site sanitation facilities. The Government of Morocco is presently identifying potential funding sources for this important promotional work.
Relative to the potential for economic growth and the relatively high standards of social development, most of the rural provinces in Morocco have very little sanitation infrastructure. This high level of social development implies great potential, not only for the improvement of sanitation, but also for its impact, in the coming years. This feature story is based on a story prepared by the Sanitation, Hygiene, and Wastewater Support Service of (SWAT) the World Bank. SWAT provides technical assistance and advisory support to project task team leaders to improve the effectiveness and increase the volume of World Bank financed sanitation projects. SWAT is funded by the Bank-Netherlands Water Partnership (BNWP) and the World Bank. All photographs by D. Kopitopolous. Drawing by Rod Shaw of WEDC.
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Water Supply and Sanitation Feature Stories are published by the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Board of the World Bank. They are available online at http://www.worldbank.org/watsan and in hardcopy from whelpdesk@worldbank.org |
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