Trends for sanitation practices in Tanzania: the history from colonial to current times

Abstract

Although sanitation is a fundamental human right, over 26,500 people die annually due to inadequate sanitation in Tanzania. This situation involves a loss of approximately 301 billion TZS (US$ 206 million). Administrative challenges are part of inadequate sanitation contributors as government actors who took over power after colonization were trained by and emulated the former rulers. Although researchers have researched sanitation practices, few have examined Tanzania's history of sanitation. The paucity of studies on the history of sanitation hinders efforts to address sanitation issues resulting from historical flaws. This review examines the history of sanitation practices in Tanzania especially the provision of sanitation facilities from colonial times to the present time. In this study, Dar es Salaam received more attention because it was Tanganyika's major urbanized area during colonialism. Thus, it attracted more pressure on sanitation infrastructure. The findings indicate that inequity characterized colonial sanitation provision. After independence, the government's role to improve sanitation was strengthened. However, the emphasis was put on interventions which were top-down, prioritizing latrine construction of any form while disregarding the history of sanitation practices. Further progress could be achieved by considering home-grown solutions and equality in the provision of sanitation services.