“No Smell!” – The social benefits and cost savings of container-based sanitation systems in Ghana

Container-based sanitation (CBS) systems are acknowledged by the JMP as providing improved sanitation services. By contrast with onsite-infiltration systems, such as latrines and septic tanks, container-based systems ensure full containment of faecal waste. This Research Brief presents the results of an evaluation of user experience of CBS. The study found that CBS provides social benefits […]

Safely managed onsite sanitation: a life changer for low-income communities

Toilets: we cannot live without them. However, about half of humanity does. According to the United Nations, 3.6 billion people around the globe live without access to a toilet “that works properly”. With that in mind, the UN has focused on those in need of this very basic service on its campaign for World Toilet […]

Building resilience faster: Join us for World Water Week 2021

How can water help us tackle the world’s greatest challenges and build resilient cities faster? Join us virtually for four sessions during the week to find out. As the world faces multiple challenges from increasing urban populations to climate change and with the SDG deadline fast approaching, finding ways to improve the resilience of cities […]

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation: Resource Planning and Management

For urban sanitation systems to function safely, at scale, over time, and inclusively, they must be organized to support three functions: responsibility, accountability, and resource planning and management. This short publication looks at the function of resource planning and management, drawing on a desk review of over 40 urban sanitation investments in twenty-eight countries across Africa, Asia and Latin […]

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation: Accountability

For urban sanitation systems to function safely, at scale, over time, and inclusively, they must be organized to support three functions: responsibility, accountability, and resource planning and management. In this paper, we explore the accountability mechanisms that can be applied to the different service provision mandate structures identified in our parallel paper on responsibilities. Click for a longer […]

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation: Responsibility

For urban sanitation systems to function safely, at scale, over time, and inclusively, they must be organized to support three functions: responsibility, accountability, and resource planning and management. This short publication looks at the function of responsibility: the extent to which sanitation authorities are clearly mandated. Click for a longer version of this publication, which explains the responsibility function […]

Quality Check: How can we ensure sanitation achieves health and quality of life outcomes in low-income areas?

This discussion paper explores how high-quality sanitation can be achieved in low-income urban areas in developing contexts. It is based on findings from four research projects conducted under, or in association with, WSUP’s Urban Sanitation Research Initiative 2016–2020 (USRI), funded by DFID. The four research projects considered here are: The Faecal Pathogen Flows study in […]

Is slum sanitation likely to require major subsidy?

Improving sanitation in slum communities is a complex challenge. Particularly challenging is working out how it can be financed. By Guy Norman, WSUP’s Director of Research and Evaluation Now if you believe that subsidy is a Bad Thing or just ain’t ever gonna happen, you might approach slum sanitation by first assessing what slumdwellers are […]

Triggers for growing a sanitation business aimed at low-income customers

This Topic Brief presents WSUP’s experience supporting sanitation businesses oriented towards low-income customers in five cities. Each case study highlights changes to the business model or enabling environment with the potential to trigger business growth. In WSUP’s experience, the success of sanitation businesses depends on factors internal to the business as well as those external, […]