Drivers of sustained sanitation access: social network and demographic predictors of latrine reconstruction after flooding disasters

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 1861-1872
Author(s):  
Katherine G. Chambers ◽  
Amanda R. Carrico ◽  
Sherri M. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Demographic Predictors

Flooding disasters pose a threat to sanitation services and can result in loss of access that exacerbates challenges to achieving universal access.

scholarly journals The how tough is WASH framework for assessing the climate resilience of water and sanitation

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Howard ◽  
Anisha Nijhawan ◽  
Adrian Flint ◽  
Manish Baidya ◽  
Maria Pregnolato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Measurement Framework ◽  
Low And Middle Income

AbstractClimate change presents a major threat to water and sanitation services. There is an urgent need to understand and improve resilience, particularly in rural communities and small towns in low- and middle-income countries that already struggle to provide universal access to services and face increasing threats from climate change. To date, there is a lack of a simple framework to assess the resilience of water and sanitation services which hinders the development of strategies to improve services. An interdisciplinary team of engineers and environmental and social scientists were brought together to investigate the development of a resilience measurement framework for use in low- and middle-income countries. Six domains of interest were identified based on a literature review, expert opinion, and limited field assessments in two countries. A scoring system using a Likert scale is proposed to assess the resilience of services and allow analysis at local and national levels to support improvements in individual supplies, identifying systematic faults, and support prioritisation for action. This is a simple, multi-dimensional framework for assessing the resilience of rural and small-town water and sanitation services in LMICs. The framework is being further tested in Nepal and Ethiopia and future results will be reported on its application.

Global Goal Setting and the Human Right to Water

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristy Clark
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Human Need ◽  
Global Goal ◽  
Development Goals

Since the 1970s, global goal setting to increase access to safe drinking water has taken a number of different approaches to whether water should be primarily understood as a “human right” or a “human need.” In the Mar del Plata declaration of 1977, states both recognized a human right to water and committed themselves to achieving universal access by 1990. By the 1990 New Delhi Statement, with universal access still out of reach, the goal was renewed with a new deadline of 2000, but water was described as a human need rather than a human right. This approach was coupled with an emphasis on water’s economic values and the need for increased cost recovery, which in turn increased the focus on, and uptake of, private-sector participation in the delivery of water and sanitation services across the Global South. A similar needs-based approach was adopted at the start of the new millennium in Target 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but during this decade a consensus on the recognition of the human right to water also emerged in international law. As the normative status and content of this right came to be better articulated and understood, it began to influence the practice of providing water and sanitation services, and by the end of the MDG process a rights-based approach featured more prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015. While the provision of water and sanitation services is multifaceted, the evidence of global achievements from the 1970s onward indicates that a rights-based approach increases the priority given to the social values of such services and focuses attention on the need to go beyond technical solutions to address the structural issues at the heart of water inequality. Going forward, approaches to the provision of water and sanitation services and the human right to water will need to continue to adapt to new challenges and to changing conceptualizations of water, including the growing recognition that all living things have a right to water and that water itself can have rights.

scholarly journals Access to Water and Sanitation Services in Brazilian Vulnerable Areas: The Role of Regulation and Recent Institutional Reform

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Antonio Narzetti ◽  
Rui Cunha Marques
Keyword(s):  
Universal Access ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Impact

Access to water and sanitation services (WSSs) in low- or middle-income countries is constrained by the poverty and vulnerability conditions of the population. In this context, it is urgent to establish public policies for WSSs that will increase the economic access to these services so that they will be more comprehensive and comprise the entire population, ensuring a balance between social and financial objectives. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the provision of WSSs in vulnerable areas and of the difficulty in achieving universal access using Brazil as a case study. The role of regulation in the provision of WSSs in vulnerable areas and the impact of the recent institutional reform that took place last year in that country is discussed. The different experiences analyzed provide interesting lessons that contribute to the improvement of the Brazilian status quo and that, at the same time, can be good practices that can be applied in other countries. One of the main conclusions of this research is related to the contributions that regulation should provide in the universalization of WSSs, mainly when the provision of these services is ruled by a contract. Furthermore, we observed that public authorities have resigned their role in this scope and that they must be more effective and, particularly, more proactive so that universalization can be achieved.

scholarly journals Social Capital Based Partnership Model for Reaching 100% Universal Access of Improve Water and Sanitation Services

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Darwati ◽  
R Pamekas
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Technology Application ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Partnership Model ◽  
Social Capitals ◽  
Partnership Approach

Indonesia had launched the strategic plan for water and sanitation provision postmillennium development goal 2015. The universal access of 100% for water supply and sanitation sector has been designated to be reached by 2019. This study is aimed to model the partnership approach that is suitable to reach the designated sanitation sector targets based on some success story of some base technology application. The decentralized- and community-based technology that could be replicated should take into consideration all aspects that relate to social capitals. It also identifies and analyses the vital cross-cutting themes and success factors, highlights gaps in the current knowledge, and identifies high-potential areas for partnerships. The grounded theory was used to systematically code, constant comparison, render the categories. Mixed method and technique were used for data analysis. The developed model consists of ten out of twenty collaboration factors that generate variables to structure the model social-capital-based partnership with six dynamic similarity trends of growth and two different trends of growth. This model demonstrates that social connections might drive the collaboration activity to generate benefit from the social connection. The 100% universal access to the sanitation target might be achieved if the model is applied correctly.

scholarly journals Limited services? The role of shared sanitation in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Evans ◽  
Andrés Hueso ◽  
Richard Johnston ◽  
Guy Norman ◽  
Eddy Pérez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Limited Service

Target 6.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for universal access to sanitation by 2030. The associated indicator is the population using ‘safely managed’ sanitation services. Shared sanitation is classified as a ‘limited’ sanitation service and some donors and governments are reluctant to invest in it, as it will not count towards achieving Target 6.2. This could result in poor citizens in dense slums being left out of any sanitation improvements, while efforts are diverted towards better-off areas where achieving ‘safely managed’ sanitation is easier. There are sound reasons for labelling shared sanitation as ‘limited’ service, the most important being that it is extremely difficult – for global monitoring purposes – to differentiate between shared toilets that are hygienic, accessible and safe, and the more common ones which are poorly designed and managed. There is no reason to stop investing in shared sanitation. ‘Safely managed’ represents a standard countries should aspire to. However, the 2030 Agenda and the human rights recognise the need for intermediate steps and for reducing inequalities. This calls for prioritising investments in high-quality shared toilets in dense informal settlements where it is the only viable option (short of rehousing) for improving sanitation services.

scholarly journals Projeto <i>Vida no Vale</i>: universal access to water and sanitation in the North East of Minas Gerais (Brazil)

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1075-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Kauark-Leite ◽  
B. Vinçon-Leite ◽  
J. F. Deroubaix ◽  
A. Loireau ◽  
D. Silveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
The North ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract. In the rural areas of the developing countries, the access to water supply and sanitation services is still largely inadequate. Poor governance of the water sector is frequently singled out as a cause and reforms are required. Studies analyzing the great diversity of restructuring efforts currently being undertaken in the water sector have not succeeded in determining the most appropriate institutional and economic framework for such reforms. Moreover they underline the lack of documentation on actual projects and call for concrete models and tools for improving water and sanitation services (WSS) and for adapting water utility practice to real conditions. In this context, the Vida no Vale (Life in the Valley) project is aimed at bringing universal access to WSS for all inhabitants of both urban and rural areas, in the north-eastern area of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. The project takes sustainable development as its guiding principle, and relies on the joint implementation of an innovative technical design, a governance model involving public participation and subsidiarity, and an economic structure combining financial viability and social equity. Designed at a consistent geographical and hydrological scale, it includes the creation of a regional subsidiary of the existing state water company as a keystone element. The institutional organisation also relies on the creation of a public board consisting of the 92 municipalities of the project region and of the State of Minas Gerais. This board will be in charge of the system's governance. This paper presents the first step of the project (2006), consisting of a feasibility study and the implementation of 9 pilot sub-projects. During the feasibility study, the supply, demand and capacity to pay for water services were defined, existing infrastructure appraised, the necessary amount of investment assessed and an innovative operational model and a sustainable management system, including civil society participation, defined. The main features of the Vida no Vale project have been tested in 9 pilot sub-projects, and implemented in municipalities chosen for their low Human Development Index and for the lack of WSS, in both urban and rural areas. A second phase corresponding to the project's final implementation will run from 2007 to 2011. The Vida no Vale project design resulted in a logical and extensive framework which could be used for developing similar WSS projects in other poor, rural regions, its adaptiveness being a key feature for taking into account the specific, local conditions.

Some Challenges for DEWATS Approaches in South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Eales
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Treated Effluent ◽  
Sustainable Services

SA has set bold targets to ensure universal access to water and sanitation by 2014. One consequence of South Africa's comparative wealth is that government has substantial fiscal resources to fund rapid infrastructure development and service upgrading and subsidise a portion of the recurrent costs of water and sanitation services for low income households. More than 70% of the population now has at least a VIP toilet, and about 56% have sewered flush toilets. Government's commitment to improving sanitation services does not yet align with the municipal capacity to run sewered sanitation with centralised wastewater treatment as the default in all urban settlements. Decaying networks, sewer spills and rising levels of wastewater treatment failure are polluting South Africa's water systems and, in time, could compromise national water security in a context of growing scarcity. South Africa urgently needs to find lower cost, less skills-intensive ways of treating wastewater that have a reduced risk of failure and which meet people's need for robust, sustainable services. DEWATS approaches have significant merit. Implementation of DEWATS approaches in South Africa must take account of three main challenges:▪ The willingness of South African municipalities to consider alternatives to conventional sewering and wastewater treatment▪ The nutrient load of the final treated effluent, given the importance of safe-guarding river water quality in a context of growing water scarcity▪ Partnering and co-management dynamics in a context of state-centric supply-side service provision The paper reviews each in the context of a leading innovator in sanitation improvement in South Africa, eThekwini Metro Municipality. In 2010, the Metro will test the technical limits of DEWATS treatment efficacy at a purpose-built research site. The results will inform the utility's decision about whether to proceed with DEWATS from a technical perspective, and if so, how.

scholarly journals The future of water and sanitation: global challenges and the need for greater ambition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Howard
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Global Challenges ◽  
Piped Water

Abstract Water and sanitation services are critical for public health. The importance of these services is reflected in SDG 6 and the associated targets 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3. Much progress remains to be made to achieve these targets, but it is already becoming clear that greater ambition is needed. This paper looks at three global challenges: the need to increase the level of service to protect public health including infectious respiratory diseases; the role of sanitation in combatting anti-microbial resistance (AMR); and the urgent need to build more climate-resilient services. We need to upgrade the SDG targets to focus on universal access to piped water on premises, to incorporate action on AMR in definitions of safe sanitation and to embed actions to improve resilience, which take into account the greater ambition called for in the SDG 6 targets. This requires a shift in thinking in the sector, away from relying on households and communities to manage their services to properly funded, professional services staffed by trained technical, managerial and finance staff. This will require more public finance and better use of financial instruments that have proved effective in other sectors. Increasing our ambition will mean the world can achieve the aim of universal access to safe, sustainable, and resilient services and protect public health.

scholarly journals Projeto <i>Vida no Vale</i>: universal access to water and sanitation in the North East of Minas Gerais (Brazil)

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2683-2712
Author(s):  
L. Kauark-Leite ◽  
B. Vinçon-Leite ◽  
J. F. Deroubaix ◽  
A. Loireau ◽  
D. Silveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
The North ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract. In the rural areas of the developing countries, the access to water supply and sanitation services is still largely inadequate. Poor governance of the water sector is frequently singled out as a cause and reforms are required. Studies analyzing the great diversity of restructuring efforts currently being undertaken in the water sector have not succeeded in determining the most appropriate institutional and economic framework for such reforms. Moreover they underline the lack of documentation on actual projects and call for concrete models and tools for improving water and sanitation services (WSS) and for adapting water utility practice to real conditions. In this context, the Vida no Vale (Life in the Valley) project is aimed at bringing universal access to WSS for all inhabitants of both urban and rural areas, in the north-eastern area of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. The project takes sustainable development as its guiding principle, and relies on the joint implementation of an innovative technical design, a governance model involving public participation and subsidiarity, and an economic structure combining financial viability and social equity. Designed at a consistent geographical and hydrological scale, it includes the creation of a regional subsidiary of the existing state water company as a keystone element. The institutional organisation also relies on the creation of a public board consisting of the 92 municipalities of the project region and of the State of Minas Gerais. This board will be in charge of the system's governance. The paper will present the first step of the project (2006), consisting of a feasibility study and the implementation of 9 pilot sub-projects. During the feasibility study, the supply, demand and capacity to pay for water services were defined, existing infrastructure appraised, the necessary amount of investment assessed and an innovative operational model and a sustainable management system, including civil society participation, defined. The main features of the Vida no Vale project have been tested in 9 pilot sub-projects, and implemented in municipalities chosen for their low Human Development Index and for the lack of WSS, in both urban and rural areas. A second phase corresponding to the project's final implementation will run from 2007 to 2011. The ongoing successful accomplishment of the Vida no Vale project would make it an exemplary and replicable model for other poor regions.

scholarly journals Safely Managed On-Site Sanitation: A National Assessment of Sanitation Services and Potential Fecal Exposure in Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8204
Author(s):  
Mitsunori Odagiri ◽  
Ann Thomas ◽  
Maraita Listyasari ◽  
Freya Mills ◽  
Robert E. S. Bain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Wealth Quintile ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Septic Tank ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Septic Tanks ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Sanitation Systems

Sustainable Development Goal target 6.2 calls for universal access to adequate and equitable sanitation, setting a more ambitious standard for ‘safely managed sanitation services’. On-site sanitation systems (e.g., septic tanks) are widely used in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the lack of indicators for assessing fecal exposure risks presents a barrier to monitoring safely managed services. Furthermore, geographic diversity and frequency of disasters require a more nuanced approach to risk-informed decision-making. Taking Indonesia as an example, the purpose of this paper is to provide insights into current status and practices for on-site sanitation services in the contexts of LMICs. Using a dataset from a national socio-economic survey (n = 295,155) coupled with village census (n = 83,931), we assessed (1) household sanitation practices across Indonesia stratified by city-level population density and meteorological factors, (2) factors associated with septic tank emptying practice, and (3) inequalities in potential fecal exposure as measured by population density and WASH access by wealth quintile. We found a high reliance on on-site sanitation facilities (80.0%), almost half of which are assumed to be ‘uncontained’ septic tanks and one in ten facilities discharging untreated waste directly into the environment. The most densely populated areas had the highest rates of septic tank emptying, though emptying rates were just 17.0%, while in the lowest population density group, emptying was rarely reported. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated an association between flooding and drought occurrence and septic tank emptying practice. Higher groundwater usage for drinking among poorer households suggests unsafe sanitation may disproportionally affect the poor. Our study underscores the urgent need to strengthen the monitoring of on-site sanitation in LMICs by developing contextualized standards. Furthermore, the inequalities in potential fecal exposure require greater attention and tailored support mechanisms to ensure the poorest gain access to safely managed sanitation services.

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