Musician's campaign for clean water wins environmental award

Feliciano dos Santos in San Francisco with his award.

Credit: Goldman Environmental Prize

13 April 2008

A musician with polio, who has dedicated his life to campaigning for clean water and sanitation, has been awarded the world's most notable environmental prize for grassroots activists.

Feliciano dos Santos is one of six recipients of the international Goldman Environmental Prize, recognised for his commitment to campaigning for better public health through safe water and sanitation in Mozambique.

More than half of the population of Mozambique lives in extreme poverty without access to clean water or basic sanitation. The World Health Organisation attributes 80 percent of all illness in the world to unsafe water and poor sanitation, and over two million people (including 1.5 million children) worldwide die from water-related diseases each year.

Listen to an interview with Feliciano on the BBC World Service and hear him talk about his efforts to encourage ecological sanitation.

Santos's work

Born in a remote village in Mozambique's northern province of Niassa, Santos grew up poor and was disabled by polio as a result of contaminated water and poor sanitation. His experiences led him to set up a local NGO, Estamos, where he is now leading a novel programme of public health initiatives.

Santos has developed a unique approach to communicate the importance of clean water and sanitation, using the power of music to convey public health messages and initiate social change. Through his band, Massukos, Santos draws in locals to hear songs that focus on health, water and HIV/Aids.

Santos working in the field in Mozambique.

Credit: John Antonelli

With sanitation as the theme for some of his songs, Santos has turned a taboo subject into music with a message that has a direct impact on people's lives. His music inspires people to keep a clean, healthy home and village, and helps them understand how their interaction with the environment affects things such as water and food supply.

Listen to Massukos' music online.

An innovative approach

Through Estamos, Santos began working in Niassa - where many villages lack even a basic sanitation infrastructure - promoting low-cost, environmentally sustainable sanitation that composts human waste into nutrient-rich fertilisers. Families that use this model report fewer diseases, better soil retention and a 100% improvement in crop production.

This sanitation model enables villagers to produce enough food for their families and generate a small income from selling some of their harvest. Santos's innovative approach has now become the model for sustainable development programmes worldwide.

The success of Santos's work is due to personal involvement rather than imposing sanitation systems or behavioural change. He works with villagers in workshops, helping them understand their sanitation options so that they can choose the best solution and build it themselves.

Santos at a Massukos concert. Listen to some of Massukos' music online.

Credit: Jon Lea

Having helped thousands of people in the villages of Niassa, Santos is now working through Estamos in the capital, Maputo, and in three districts in northern Mozambique.

WaterAid's Joe Gomme described the impact of Estamos and Santos's work: "Although certain communities have taken up ecological sanitation enthusiastically, it has not yet spread significantly to communities in which Estamos has not worked. Estamos has always been strong in community education work, and taking that to many more communities is now the new challenge."

The prize

Established in 1990, the Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded each year to environmental heroes from six continental regions. Endorsed by more than 100 heads of state, the prize allows individuals to continue winning environmental victories against the odds and inspires ordinary people to take extraordinary actions to protect the world.

This year, the prize winners received their awards at the San Francisco Opera House, in the United States, on Monday 14 April 2008.