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 […]

A path to faster and more effective change: fighting non-revenue water

This year’s theme for World Water Day, Accelerating Change, reminds us all of the urgent need to improve provision of clean water and safe sanitation around the world. At WSUP, we believe that combating waste of water and resources is essential if governments, utilities and communities are to speed up their journey towards water, sanitation […]

WSUP’s Wonderful Women in WASH

While Aklima sees herself as a facilitator, Pascaline wants to build her own sanitation marketing business The growing number of female leaders in water, sanitation and hygiene is improving communication with local communities and unleashing new approaches and ideas. On this year’s International Women’s Day, we focus on two of WSUP’s women who are transforming […]

Pilots offer alternatives to sanitation challenges in Zambia and Kenya

In Livingstone, south of Zambia, and Malindi, on the Kenyan coast, unsafe pit emptying services create public health risks for both workers and the community. The TRANSFORM project, implemented by WSUP and Sanivation, with support from Unilever, EY and UK Aid, offered legal, reliable and healthy pit emptying alternatives in low-income areas, with pilot projects […]

The promise of replenished aquifers in two Kenyan coastal cities

A new project, with funding from P4G and the participation of WSUP, will offer the cities of Mombasa and Malindi, in Kenya, a new and important tool to improve provision of water to their residents: Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR). The process involves capturing excess rainwater and infiltrating it into the ground for storing, through an […]

Annual Report 2021-2022 shows progress of WSUP’s work in Africa and Asia

WSUP’s 2021-2022 Annual Report has been launched, showing how our organisation’s work in Southern Africa and Asia has advanced even more, with different initiatives in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in low-income urban areas. It was a particularly important year for WSUP’s activities promoting good WASH services for women and girls. Another highlight was its […]

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 […]

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 […]