2016 ICT4D Conference

Cellar reporting sensors may provide feedback on the sustainability of interventions in developing communities, improving on survey data and infrequent spot checks to assess performance. This presentation will profile several example applications of remotely reporting sensors to assess the proper operation and use of environmental health interventions.

In one recent study in Bangladesh, for instance, our instruments demonstrated more than a 50 percent exaggeration of latrine use compared to household surveys. That result may enable funders and development engineers to rethink how they implement sanitation programs.

In another example, in 2014 we worked on a project to install about 200 sensors in rural water pumps in Rwanda. The purpose was to identify pumps that were broken in order to dispatch repair teams. According to a survey, before the sensors were installed some 44 percent of the area's pumps were broken at any given time, and it took an average of about seven months to get a pump repaired. After the sensors were in place, the repair interval was reduced to just 26 days; consequently, only 9 percent of pumps were broken at a time.

We also evaluated whether awareness of sensors would impact household use of water filters or cookstoves in rural Rwanda. Turns out, there was a dramatic impact: a nearly 63 percent increase in the use of water filters in the first week, which declined slowly over the subsequent four weeks.

Working with CRS in Kenya, our team is presently installing sensors and developing management systems for rural water points.