Sanitation briefing

updated October 2008

Risky sanitation for children in Nepal © Mark Naftalin

Progress towards the sanitation target within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been extremely disappointing. Defined as a facility which removes excreta from the risk of human contact, “safe” sanitation encompasses covered pit latrines as well as flush toilets. Since its belated addition to the MDGs in 2002, the sanitation target has been the Cinderella of the cause, attracting little over 10% of funds available for water and sanitation programmes.

Development agencies must accept some responsibility, their publicity cameras preferring to linger on happy children working the pump handle, drops of water glistening in sunlight. Latrines offer less inspiring images and copy. Even the UN’s declaration of the period 2005-2015 as the “International Decade for Action - Water for Life” betrayed neglect of sanitation, in presentation if not intent.

The consequence is that 18% of the world’s population – including half of the population of South Asia – continues to suffer the indignity of open defecation, mostly in rural areas. Global access to safe sanitation increased only from 54% to 62% in the period 1990-2006, leaving 2.5 billion people without access, a figure which has barely changed in recent years. In sub-Saharan Africa progress from 26% to 31% extrapolates to arrive at the target sometime during the 22nd century.

The development industry has recently taken great strides to redress its lopsided focus on drinking water. The UN corrected its earlier omission by proclaiming 2008 as the Year of Sanitation and the development agencies have overhauled their presentations.

For example, the suggestion that diarrhoea is caused by drinking contaminated water presents an incomplete picture and more attention is now given to the link with unsafe sanitation and poor hygiene practices which ultimately are a major contributor to child mortality. The specialist international agency, WaterAid, has been referring to “sanitation and water” in its communications, inverting the more familiar phrase.

A further important output of this fresh approach has been the calculation that sanitation projects deliver highly impressive economic returns of $9 for each $1 of investment, thanks to lower healthcare costs and less disruption to school and work attendance.

more background and useful links:

OneWorld Water and Sanitation Guide