Developing a Sanitation for All Framework

Female students wash their hands, UNICEF Ethopia, Ose, 2014, Unmodified

More than 15% of the world’s population has some form of disability, 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries, where basic needs, such as sanitation, often go unmet. People with disabilities often face environmental, social, and institutional barriers to accessing sanitation facilities, presenting a major hurdle to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of sanitation for all by 2030.

Providing individuals with Assistive Technology Devices (ATDs) is a common approach to increasing sanitation access and use, the efficiency of which needs to be considered in broader cultural and economic contexts. With a general motivation to make progress toward the sanitation-for-all goal, this paper discusses a sanitation-for-all framework and describes the role of ATDs in improving access to sanitation. The framework includes three interacting, mediating elements that influence sanitation access—personal/individual, social, and environmental factors. It also includes one moderating element: institutional structures.

UB faculty, in collaboration with Jane Wilbur of WaterAID, co-authored a framework for research and practice to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. This framework was presented at the Water, Engineering and Development Centre Conference held in Ghana, West Africa as well as the International Society for Urban Health in San Francisco, California, USA in 2016. The framework includes three interacting, mediating elements that influence sanitation access--personal/individual, social, and environmental factors. It also includes one moderating element: institutional structures.