Books

Sanitation and wastewater management are core to the health and wellbeing of individuals cities societies and whole environmental ecosystems. But halfway through the SDG era and despite being a public good sanitation continues to lag behind. Governments and intergovernmental organizations still lack critical data on the status of wastewater and faecal sludge treatment both globally and at the country level. There is a need for greater clarity and better guidance on what a public service approach to sanitation involves in practice. There are many cities across regions taking effective measures to improve sanitation — but guidance is needed to make universal access a reality. This report provides the rationale for a strong and urgent public response to the urban sanitation challenge. Its key premise is that sanitation is a public good and sanitation services must be organised into public service systems. National and local governments should prioritize sanitation and wastewater as a public service — just like education health energy and other services where service authorities have a clear public mandate to ensure service delivery for all.