Africa: Opinion - the Global Sanitation Challenge: Is There a Silver Bullet?

opinion

We continue to face a global sanitation crisis in the 21st century, with millions worldwide defecating in the open. At the current rate of progress and with current investment levels, we are bound to miss international and national targets for achieving universal access to basic sanitation by 2030, the United Nations' 6th Sustainable Development Goal.

It has become clear now that there is no single bullet to address the sanitation challenge. Various strategies have been trialled and tested in the last few decades. Policies up to the 1990s focussed on getting toilets built. Governments then switched to subsidy programmes. After disappointing results, opinion swung in favour of raising public awareness of the health risks from inadequate sanitation behaviour. Recently, the private sector joined the sanitation challenge, most prominently by offering microcredit for sanitation investments.

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