UN-Habitat report connects advances in sanitation to wider urban development

The recent second assembly of UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Progamme, in Nairobi (Kenya) in early June, saw the launch of a unique global study about challenges and advances in the management of wastewater and faecal sludge. Produced by a consortium led by WSUP and which included Aguaconsult, ESAWAS, UCLC, Thuyloi University, and GSMA, […]

Global Report on Sanitation and Wastewater Management in Cities and Human Settlements

Produced by a consortium led by WSUP, this Global Report on Sanitation and Wastewater Management in Cities and Human Settlements is a global reference on sanitation and wastewater in urban settings. It takes stock of the sanitation and wastewater management situation, both in terms of service levels and the supporting functions required to enable service […]

We must apply the lessons we have learnt to galvanise the sanitation economy

By Kariuki Mugo, Director of WASH Sector Support The WASH sector (water, sanitation and hygiene) is slow-acting and slow-learning. This fact became clear to me back in February while attending the International Faecal Sludge Management Conference in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. In particular, our workshop,“Bridging the Funding Gap for Sanitation Services in Informal Settlements”, helped me […]

Lake Victoria nations come together for better sanitation

What is Lakewide Inclusive Sanitation (LWIS)? It is a strategy that can change the quality of life in the Lake Victoria Basin by improving essential service provision in the areas of water and sanitation. LWIS was the focus of a workshop in Kisumu, Kenya, at the end of 2022. The event brought together representatives of […]

Annual Report 2021-2022

From climate adaptation efforts to a stronger push for better living conditions for women and girls, in 2021-2022 WSUP advanced further in its work providing clean water and decent sanitation and promoting appropriate hygiene in low-income urban communities. Our 2021-2022 Annual Report shows the result of WSUP’s activities, benefitting more than 1 million people in […]

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation in Practice: Experience from Malindi, Kenya

For many African cities, offering a decent toilet to all urban residents and ensuring that all faecal waste is safely managed is an ambitious vision that will take years to achieve, unless there is a fundamental shift in the delivery of sanitation services. This shift is already happening in Kenya, where more than two thirds […]

Advances in sanitation: an emerging roadmap to regulating services

Emerging themes from the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking-water and sanitation regulators network have been gathered in an article produced by a number of experts. The text below, authored by Kate Medlicott (WHO), Yvonne Magawa (ESAWAS), Peter Mutale (NAWASCO), Chola Mbilima (NWASCO), Mohammad Said Al Hmaidi (WSRC), Massa Antoine Traore (MoESSD, Mali), Jelena Krstić (MoEP, […]

A Guide to Simplified Sewer Systems in Kenya

The WSUP report A Guide to Simplified Sewer Systems in Kenya describes how a pilot project in the informal settlement of Mukuru has demonstrated a cost-effective way to bring decent sanitation to some communities in Kenya: simplified sewers. New evidence shows that simplified sewer networks, which are much shallower and more flexible than traditional sewer […]

WSUP signs WASH4Work declaration for climate resilience at COP27

The WASH4Work initiative, with the participation of Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), has released a declaration at the climate summit COP27 in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, supporting actions to increase climate resilience in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Having access to WASH builds people’s resilience to climate change. This can and must […]

Pilot demonstrates effectiveness of simplified sewers in Kenya

A pilot project in the informal settlement of Mukuru has demonstrated a cost-effective way to bring decent sanitation to some communities in Kenya: simplified sewers. Most residents in Kenya’s densely packed informal communities lack access to decent sanitation, and the practical and financial challenges of addressing this crisis are well documented. However, new evidence shows […]