Social Sustainability

Sanitation

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Definition

Sanitation is the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal and management of human excreta and wastewater, spanning the full service chain: containment (toilets and latrines), emptying, transport, treatment and safe disposal or reuse. The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme tracks a service ladder from open defecation through basic to safely managed sanitation; billions of people still lack safely managed services, and hundreds of millions practise open defecation.

References

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This reference provides supporting context for how “Sanitation” is defined and used.

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Source imported for editorial provenance.

Overview

How it is used

The concept structures SDG target 6. 2, urban sanitation planning (citywide inclusive sanitation), WASH programmes in health and education facilities, and faecal sludge management policy.

Why it matters

Sanitation is among the highest-return public health investments; its neglect remains one of the starkest measures of global inequality.