Why focus on Public awareness, advocacy and civil society engagement?

Decision makers and affluent classes pay little attention to the situation of those who struggle daily with inadequate sanitation. The media cover topics such as climate change and water scarcity but consider talking about toilets taboo.  To meet Sustainable Development Goal 6.2, we need to mobilize public opinion, the press, and policy makers worldwide.

Objectives

The purpose of Working Group 9 is to put toilets centre-stage with the media, the public, and government decision-makers and to position sanitation products and services as attractive lifestyle choices. We seek to engage communities and local governments on the scope and scale of the challenges. In the global south, 4.5 billion people lack access to sustainable toilet systems. In cities of the global north, residents are vulnerable to the failure of inadequately maintained sewer infrastructure.

Ways to get involved:

• Sign up for free SuSanA membership and join Working Group 9. Introduce yourself on the Forum or in an email to WG co-leads.
• Recognize World Toilet Day on November 19 and use it to promote awareness of the issues. The campaign theme for 2018 is ‘When nature calls’ and it focusses on the sanitation solutions we can find in nature. Download free posters, logos, stories, videos, fact sheets and information in many languages on the World Toilet Day website
• Join the Honor Our Cleaners campaign of the World Toilet Organization http://worldtoilet.org/ by taking a photo with your favourite toilet cleaners to thank them for keeping us healthy and comfortable all 365 days of the year.
• Access tools and information that support advocacy efforts of civil society and community-based organizations through the SuSanA Library.
• Tell about your experiences raising awareness and engaging people to advocate for sustainable sanitation in your community, your nation or the world. Talk about what works and what doesn’t.
• Share strong sanitation messages, images and videos that motivate communities and serve as tools for effective advocacy.
• Use the Forum, Twitter, Facebook or other social media to invite people everywhere to support your awareness campaigns.
• Invite journalists cover sanitation problems and solutions. Write press releases for World Toilet Day events. Provide reporters ideas on stories to write. Introduce them to the SuSanA library and put them in touch with experts through the SuSanA network.
• Everyone uses Wikipedia. If you see a sanitation article on Wikipedia that needs to be improved, help us make it better.
• Promote sustainable sanitation products and services in your country. Show their use in local and global markets, especially for the poor.

Sterenn Philippe, Andrés Hueso, Gloria Kafuria, Jules Sow, Hermann B. Kambou, Wandoo Akosu and Lloyd Beensi (2022) Challenges Facing Sanitation Workers in Africa: A Four-Country Study

Sanitation workers encounter significant challenges that jeopardize their dignity and health, crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite their vital role, many governments in low- and middle-income countries neglect support for this workforce due to insufficient understanding of their needs and obstacles. The paper explores challenges faced by sanitation workers […]

Various Authors (2020) Session Summary: Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) - Relevant, Inter-sectoral and on the Rise
Session hosted in the course of the 30th SuSanA Meeting and Week on Water for Development 2020

MHH contributes to gender equality, better education and employment, and the realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights. In this session progress and success stories of MHH globally and within the German Development Cooperation were presented and opportunities for sustaining and scaling the momentum were discussed. The menstrual movement has […]

Gerlach, E. (2020) Sanitation for Millions - Curtain call for Caretakers: the Hausmeister concept

Universal access to adequate sanitation is one of the under-appreciated achievements of many societies – and unfortunately remains a distant dream for millions. Even in countries where there is no home without a toilet, public institutions tend to have facilities that are part of the unseen fabric of civilisation. Familiar […]

WHO and UNICEF (2017) Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - 2017 Update and SDG Baselines

The WHO/UNICEF JMP has published its first report of the SDG period, Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG baselines. The report introduces and defines the new indicators of safely managed drinking water and sanitation services. Estimates of safely managed drinking water services, the indicator for […]

Chitty, A., Wilson-Jones, M., Jones, D. (2016) The Missing Ingredients
Are Policy-Makers Doing Enough on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene to End Malnutrition?

This report, conducted by SHARE and WaterAid, highlights why water, sanitation and hygiene are essential for nutrition. Through an analysis of national nutrition plans and policies in 13 countries, the research highlights the extent to which WASH is embedded at policy level and where and how improvements must be made.

Hall, N. et al. (2016) Strengthening community participation in meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 for water, sanitation and hygiene
Discussion Paper No.3

Countries have much work to do to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. But development projects don’t always go the way you expect. A resettlement project in Laos recently provided taps and toilets as a way to improve hygiene and health outcomes for communities. But on revisiting the […]

De Albuquerque, C. (2014) Realising the human rights to water and sanitation: A handbook
Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish

A product of six years of work, the goal of the handbook is to explain the meaning and legal obligations of these rights and to translate complex technical and legal language into accessible information. Designed for a broad audiences in the Global South and North, the information should be useful […]

pS-Eau (2016) WASH services in the Sustainable Development Goals
(in English and French)

This document brief aims to give the context of the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and highlights the issues of water and sanitation in the SDGs. This should allow WASH actors to better link their actions to the implementation of the SDGs and easily find the key documents […]

Working Group Lead