Sanitation
From WaterWiki.net
Video by WECF on the Right to Sanitation and situation in Eastern Europe
2.5 billion people do not have access to sanitation. A toilet is not the first thing that comes to mind as a major driver of human development.
Terms & Synonyms | |
Official WHO Definition | The means of collecting and disposing of excrete and community liquid waste in a hygienic way so as not to endanger the health of individuals or the community as a whole (WHO 1992).
Access to safe water and to sanitary means of excreta disposal are universal needs and, indeed, basic human rights. They are essential elements of human development and poverty alleviation and constitute an indispensable component of primary health care. There is evidence that provision of adequate sanitation services, safe water supply, and hygiene education represents an effective health intervention that reduces the mortality and the related morbidity caused by diarrhoeal disease. Inadequate sanitation, hygiene and water result not only in more sickness and death, but also in higher health costs, lower worker productivity, lower school enrollment and retention rates of girls and, perhaps most importantly, the denial of the rights of all people to live in dignity (WHO 1992). |
Other Definitions | |
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Contents |
Interpretations and Explanations
Terms and Synonyms
Basic Sanitation Worldwide
(Source: WorldMapper Territory size shows the proportion of people living with access to basic sanitation that live there. Basic sanitation includes pit latrines and toilets with cesspits, but not those linked to mains sewerage systems.)
Basic sanitation means access to pit latrines or toilets linked to a cesspit, but not to a sewerage system. These might be private or shared. Almost half (48%) of the world population use this type of sanitation.
Those who do not have access to basic sanitation either have poor sanitation facilities, or are linked to a mains sewerage system. Of the populations of Rwanda and the United Kingdom, 7% have access to basic sanitation. In Rwanda 92% have no access to good toilets; in the United Kingdom 92% of people have access to toilets that are attached to mains sewerage systems.
Poor Sanitation Worldwide
(Source: WorldMapper Territory size shows the proportion of all people without access to basic sanitation (toilets) that live there)
Of all the people in the world, 39.8% of us do not have access to basic sanitation. This means living within walking distance of private or shared (not public) latrines or toilets that effectively prevent human and animal contact with excreta.
In Indonesia 98 million people, or 45% of the population, do not have access to good latrines. More people in Indonesia live without access to good toilets than in the whole of South America. Of the South American population, 22% live without good sanitation.
In Southern Asia and Central Africa, 65% of people live without access to basic sanitation.
Sewerage Sanitation Worldwide
(Source: WorldMapper Territory size shows the proportion of all people that have their toilets connected to public sewerage systems (and thus waste water treatment) that live there)
In more that three quarters of territories fewer than 10% of the population has access to toilets that are connected, via sewers, to a waste water treatment plant. In 8 regions less than 5% of people are connected to sewerage systems.
Sewerage systems remove waste from housing areas and treat it. This helps to reduce contamination of water courses used for drinking and washing water. Only very good pit latrines or cesspits do the same job.
In six territories over 90% of people are connected to sewerage systems, the highest is the Netherlands with 98% connected.
Global networks
Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation
Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)
Private Sector Participation
Swiss Public-Private Partnerships for Water Supply and Sanitation
Gender and Sanitation
Gender Guidelines Water Supply and Sanitation
A Gender Perspective on Water Resources and Sanitation
References
WHO (1992) A guide to the development of on-site sanitation
WHO Health topics: SanitationWHO (2002)
Healthy villages: a guide for communities and community health workers
UNEP (1997) Water pollution control: a guide to the use of water quality management principles
WHO Lexicon page (translations and examples)
See also
- 25 most recently edited WaterWiki articles on Sanitation
- Project for access to drinking water and sanitation in Mar Lothie and Mar Soulou, Senegal
- Project for access to drinking water and sanitation in the area of Djirnda
- Project for the access to drinking water and sanitation in the area Falia
- Sanitation Project with the construction of community latrines around the market and in the public square of the Village KIOTI
- Improved coverage of access to drinking water in the rural commune Kolokani, in the circle Kolokani
- Project for access to drinking water and sanitation in the village Tialane
- Project to improve the living conditions of the population in the suburbs of the commune Diourbel
- Project to combat the proliferation of fecal peril and poverty by access to drinking water and sanitation in Niodir
- Project for access to drinking water and sanitation in Mar Fafaco
- Water and Sanitation Services in Europe: Do Legal Frameworks provide for "Good Governance"?
- Sanitation Demand and Supply in Cambodia
- India's Sanitation For All:How To Make It Happen
- Summary and Policy Implications. Vision 2030. The resilience of water supply and sanitation in the face of climate change.
- Why Sanitation and Water Supply are Important to Growth and Development in Cambodia
- Swimming upstream: why sanitation, hygiene and water are so important to mothers and their daughters
- Inadequate Sanitation Costs India Rs 2.4 Trillion (US $ 53.8 billion)
- Institutional Dimensions of Scaling Up Community-Led Total Sanitation in Indonesia
- WSS
- Scaling Up Rural Sanitation:Findings from the Impact Evaluation Survey in Indonesia
- The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India
- Managing the Flow of Monitoring Information to Improve Rural Sanitation in East Java
- Template:Sanitation Toolkit
- 10 Things You Need To Know About Sanitation
- A Snapshot of Drinking Water and Sanitation in Africa: 2010 Update
External Resources
Sewerage Sanitation Worldwide on WorldMapper.org
Poor Sanitation Worldwide on WorldMapper.org
Basic Sanitation Worldwide on WorldMapper.org
International Year of Sanitation 2008

