2021 Davidson Gwatkin Equity Measurement Prize Winner

mWater’s Monitoring System for the  UNICEF / LIXIL Partnership:
“Make a Splash! Toilets for All”

The UNICEF / LIXIL Sanitation Market Shaping Partnership focuses on the East African nations of Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. The partnership supports access to better sanitation for the households with the lowest income by strengthening sanitation markets to meet the demand created by UNICEF’s efforts to stop the practice of open defecation combined with LIXIL’s SATO products, which provide safe, affordable and sustainable solutions for communities to improve and sustain proper sanitation. Using the EquityTool, the project evaluation team was able to determine household wealth quintiles, in real time, for project beneficiaries, and inform program management as to whether they were reaching their target demographics.

Their EquityTool results from household surveys in three East African countries determined that the product was more likely to be purchased by wealthier households, who are more able to spend money up front for a better toilet. This indicated that better financing options were required for households to access the product, including microfinance or loans from community-based organizations. As a result of this research, the project was able to expand financing options for low-income households to afford the product. Additionally, the EquityTool indicator set is now available on the free mWater data platform, allowing any organization or government to add the EquityTool questions to their mobile surveys and automatically calculate the wealth quintile for analysis and visualization in dashboards and maps.

Metrics for Management is pleased to highlight and support the valuable contribution of this research to development knowledge in low- and middle-income countries through the Gwatkin Prize awards. The project will receive a financial award of $10,000.

Learn more about the Gwatkin Prize, including full details on applying for the 2022 Prize. Applications will open May 1, 2022; it’s never too early to review the detailed eligibility criteria and identify the project you’d like to submit.

Learn more about the UNICEF / LIXIL Market Shaping Partnership and Make a Splash!