Nairobi, one of Africa’s largest cities, is facing an unprecedented challenge: water access
Through interactive maps, drone footage, case studies and comprehensive analysis, we are telling the story of building the city’s water resiliency
Story map: Growing Nairobi, Flowing Nairobi
Report: A journey of institutional change: extending water services to Nairobi’s informal settlements
Could you run an urban sanitation business? Find out with our new simulation.
Learn more about sanitation businesses by watching our films on SWEEP in Bangladesh and Gasia Poa in Kenya.
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Read our guide to strengthening the enabling environment for faecal sludge management
Climate change is already having a huge impact in many parts of the world. In countries where WSUP works, poor water availability poses serious risks to society, and as extreme weather events become increasingly frequent, this challenge is worsening. This paper highlights how WSUP works to support climate resilience.
Women and girls primarily bear the responsibility for household water supply and child care, and are the most affected by poor sanitation. The amount of time spent locating and collecting water represents a major barrier to economic gain and empowerment as it reduces time available for income generating activities and school attendance. This paper highlights […]
The Kenyan water and sewerage regulator, WASREB, has introduced a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) mandating utilities to report their efforts to serve low-income areas. KPI 10 requires utilities to demonstrate their pro-poor strategies, mapping and engagement, now essential to placing highly in WASREB’s annual ranking. This Practice Note outlines the 7-year process – driven […]
Master Operators (MOs) are small-scale semi-autonomous water providers who serve low-income areas in Kisumu, overseen by Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (KIWASCO) through a Delegated Management Model. MOs extend the supply network to many of the city’s poorer residents for a fair price and have helped to semi-regulate previously informal water services. However, they have […]
This Practice Note outlines the development of a toilet database to support sanitation business development and public health monitoring in Lusaka. Currently being tested in the peri-urban area (PUA) of Kanyama, the electronic database enables information on the ownership, location, quality and emptying history of local pit latrines and septic tanks to be stored in […]
Lead author: IMC Worldwide. The overall aim of the project is to respond to the Government of Ghana’s interest to establish a National Sanitation Authority (NSA) to prioritise sanitation service delivery and achieve Ghana’s commitment to SDG Goal 6. The Ministry of Sanitation & Water Resources (MSWR) has requested the Urban Sanitation Research Initiative in […]
This Policy Brief reports a research project that identified ways of improving enforcement of by-laws requiring urban landlords to provide acceptable sanitation facilities for their tenants. In Ga West, as in other Ghanaian municipalities, by-laws requiring landlords to provide adequate sanitation exist: but they are rarely enforced. Nearly half of landlords are unaware of the […]
Lusaka has made huge strides in introducing faecal sludge management (FSM) services for low-income consumers, particularly thanks to the efforts of the city’s utility, Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC). WSUP has worked closely with Lusaka’s water and sanitation stakeholders, including LWSC and Lusaka City Council (LCC), for a number of years. In particular, LWSC […]
In Kisumu, Kenya, pit latrines are the dominant form of sanitation, yet the servicing of these pits has previously been unregulated. This Note outlines the recent introduction of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) – led by Kisumu County Public Health Office – which aim to minimise operator and public health risk throughout the emptying and disposal […]
Sanitation businesses can improve services for all urban residents – including the poorest – but this requires carefully designed pricing strategies and measures to reduce risk. This publication outlines WSUP’s approach to incentivising the private sector to target low-income customers, and how this is being applied to achieve commercial viability, affordability and equity of FSM […]