Africa Sanitation Dialogue – Beyond Sewers: Empowering Utilities for Non-Sewered Sanitation Services

The world is alarmingly off-track on the Sustainable Development Goal targets 6.2 and 6.3 – to deliver sanitation for all by 2030. Despite progress, as reported in 2022, only 57% of the world’s population (3.6 billion people) used sanitation services that leave human waste untreated, threatening human and environmental health. Of these, 419 million still practice open defecation. In 2020, only 1/3 of the population (2.6 billion people) used private sanitation facilities connected to sewers from which wastewater was treated, while the rest of the world is connected through onsite sanitation services. In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 80% of the population uses onsite sanitation; however, utilities are not equipped to provide non-sewered sanitation services at a large scale. Over the last decade, public service providers in several cities, especially in low- and middle-income countries, have expanded their mandate to address sanitation challenges, including non-sewered services.

The International Water Association (IWA) recognises the urgent need to address global sanitation challenges. Through its Inclusive Urban Sanitation Initiative, IWA is organising Quarterly Sanitation Dialogues to enhance advocacy, learning, and knowledge exchange on inclusive urban sanitation.

This dialogue is led by Water & Sanitation for Urban Populations (WSUP) and the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA). In this dialogue, we will discuss how sanitation services can be scaled up by utilities in the region.

Panelists:

• Shobana Srinivasan – Programme Management Officer, GWOPA, Germany LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivasanshobana/

• Hezekiah Pireh – Water and Sanitation Team Leader, UN-Habitat, HQ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hezekiah-pireh-250ab025/

• Cecilia Andersson – OiC, Urban Basic Services Section, UN-Habitat, HQ LinkedIn: (Not provided)

• Felix Twinomucunguzi – Assistant Commissioner, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-twinomucunguzi-02b71526b/

• Kitchinme Bawa – Executive Secretary, Pan African Association of Sanitation Actors (PASA), Senegal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kitch-bawa-42a53844/

• Allan Nkurunziza – Senior Urban Sanitation & CWIS Specialist, TA-Hub, Senegal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allan-nkurunziza-a73aaa17/

• Priscillah Oluoch – Head of Sanitation and Programs, MAWASCO, Kenya LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscillah-githinji-oluoch-69b7a11a7/

• Pride Kafwembe – Head - Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Unit, LWSC, Zambia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkafwembe/

• Richard Cheruiyot – Ag. Chief Executive Officer, WASREB, Kenya LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-cheruiyot-9142b176/

• Jay Bhagwan – Executive Manager, WRC, South Africa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-bhagwan-11555215/

• Yirah O Conteh - National Chairperson, Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor (FEDURP), Liberia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yirah-conteh-744480379/

• Sam Drabble - Director of Research & Evaluation, Water & Sanitation for Urban Populations (WSUP), UK - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-drabble-b76963a6/

• Joshua M. Maviti - Project Manager, UN-Habitat, Kenya - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-maviti/

Utilities, Local authorities, Local sanitation service providers, Policymakers, Regulators, Urban development practitioners, Researchers, Development partners

At the end of this dialogue, participants will be able to:

• Understand the gaps in urban planning and service provision in informal settlements.
• Understand the benefits and trade-offs of integrating sewered and non-sewered sanitation (NSS) with utilities, where these exist.
• Understand the importance of inclusive service mandates that incorporate low-income communities and informal settlements, and how this can be enabled at the policy level.
• Understand the role of regulatory authorities in supporting utility provision of NSS.
• Understand what utility provision of NSS involves in practice in terms of institutional change, systems, human resourcing, private sector engagement, and financial resources.
• Gain inspiration from real-world examples of African utilities now embracing their mandate for NSS.