Building community-driven WASH solutions in Lagos

**“Sustainability for us would mean leaving behind capability and capacities, not dependency.”** In the informal settlement of Okerube in Lagos, the community faces significant challenges in accessing clean water and sanitation, which disproportionately impact women and children. An ACRC action research project is aiming to address these issues through establishing a sustainable, community-driven social enterprise model. In this podcast episode, **Deji Akinpelu** is joined by guests **Temilade Sesan**, ACRC Lagos city manager, **Funmilayo Daniel**, a woman leader from Okerube community, and project co-leads **Oluwaseun Muraina** and **Rasheed Shittu**. They discuss the importance of building trust with the community, harnessing existing women-led structures to advance water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) solutions, and supporting residents to advocate for their rights, so they can actively shape their community’s future. Highlighting how community-driven initiatives like these can challenge urban inequality – by strengthening the capacities and capabilities of residents, and advocating for greater representation of informal settlements in urban planning – they also talk about the need for collaborative planning and community ownership, to ensure sustainability over the long term. Looking beyond Okerube to other informal settlements in Lagos, they conclude by talking about what a just and sustainable future would look like for these underserved areas. > Read more about ACRC’s work in Lagos Deji Akinpelu is co-founder of Rethinking Cities, an advocacy group working on urban development issues in Lagos, and part of the ACRC Lagos uptake team. Temilade Sesan is a social development researcher and ACRC’s city manager for Lagos. **Funmilayo Daniel** is a woman leader from the Okerube Water Committee in Lagos. Oluwaseun Muraina is a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, University of Lagos, and co-lead of the ACRC WASH action research project in Lagos. Rasheed Shittu is the founder and executive director of the Shantytown Empowerment Foundation (SHEF) and co-lead of the ACRC WASH action research project in Lagos. \---- Music: Brighter Days | Broke in Summer Sounds: Zapsplat *This podcast presents the views of the speakers featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.* Stay up to date with the latest publications, announcements and insights from the African Cities Research Consortium: > Website > E-news > Bluesky > LinkedIn > YouTube > X (Twitter)