From Priyam Das, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)/WaterAid, California, USA
Posted 9 June 2007
I am a Doctoral student in Urban Planning at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) working on water and sanitation issues in developing countries.
My colleague Tom Kemeny and I are putting together two reports for WaterAid-London, focusing on the opportunities and constraints in the sanitation sector. We will share the final reports with members as soon as they are released by WaterAid, but for now, we would like to share with members the following details:
The first report will examine
- The contribution of improvements in sanitation to economic growth and productivity (or in some cases, the negative impact on productivity and growth)
- Cost of investments (for hygiene promotion or social marketing, infrastructure such as sewer lines and treatment, etc.); and the effectiveness of investments (translation into growth, productivity, averted Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY).
The second report will examine
- Success stories in sanitation and factors for success (measured in coverage and use)
- Role of governments in these success stories
- Role of women in these success stories, and
- Cost of successful programs; factors leading to receiving increased investment, etc.
The collation of examples and experiences in the above areas from the field and their outcomes in these reports will help us in formulating specific guidelines and recommendations for practitioners, policymakers and program managers in the water and sanitation sector.
In this context, I request SE-Water members to please share with me the following:
- Success stories in the sanitation sector and reasons why these successes were achieved
- Examples from the field, showing a clear economic impact on communities/households which have improved their sanitation conditions
Thanks for your support, and we will acknowledge all contributions by members in the final reports.
Please see attachment below for the responses.