Hygiene campaigns like no other, based on water, soap, and love. As part of the second edition of the HBCC (Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition), in Ghana and Kenya, WSUP planned and executed activities for a particularly vulnerable group of people: those with some kind of disability. From men and women who cannot see or hear to those with mobility issues, people who often feel neglected have received messages and practical sessions around the importance of regular and correct hygiene practices. The HBCC programme, a public-private partnership involving Unilever and the UK Government’s Fore ..read more

The recent second assembly of UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Progamme, in Nairobi (Kenya) in early June, saw the launch of a unique global study about challenges and advances in the management of wastewater and faecal sludge. Produced by a consortium led by WSUP and which included Aguaconsult, ESAWAS, UCLC, Thuyloi University, and GSMA, the report explores sanitation systems and conditions in 18 cities around the world, with in-depth studies of 5 of them – Medellin (Colombia), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Nakuru (Kenya), and Hanoi (Vietnam). One of the lead ..read more

By Aklima Khatun in Dhaka, Shehela Ali in Chattogram, and Rachael Lithur in Accra Women and girls living in low-income urban communities face additional challenges created by poor or non-existent water and sanitation services. On top of the threat of sexual violence, the very basic management of their menstrual hygiene is impacted by the conditions they live in. In large cities of countries such as Bangladesh and Ghana, WSUP has been supporting female residents, in actions that have improved their personal health and other aspects of their lives. Around Menstrual Hygiene Day 2023, we share her ..read more

By Kariuki Mugo, Director of WASH Sector Support The WASH sector (water, sanitation and hygiene) is slow-acting and slow-learning. This fact became clear to me back in February while attending the International Faecal Sludge Management Conference in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. In particular, our workshop,“Bridging the Funding Gap for Sanitation Services in Informal Settlements”, helped me pick up lessons I should have learnt several years ago. In the room were several container-based sanitation entrepreneurs, urban government officials, development financiers and regulators from across the world. It ..read more

Dear WSUP friends and supporters, we are redesigning our website! We are in the process of building a new website, easier to use and more attractive, and we would love to have your help. In order to better understand where and how you and other readers would like to find content on the new WSUP website, we have created a short research exercise, which will help us make the site quicker and more enjoyable to navigate. It should take no more than 15 mins to complete, and most people enjoy the process. It is creative and fun! Please help us develop our new website by clicking on the link below: N ..read more

This year’s theme for World Water Day, Accelerating Change, reminds us all of the urgent need to improve provision of clean water and safe sanitation around the world. At WSUP, we believe that combating waste of water and resources is essential if governments, utilities and communities are to speed up their journey towards water, sanitation & hygiene services for all. Reducing high rates of non-revenue water – from leakage to water not paid for – is a must. This year’s World Water Day, on the 22nd of March, is accompanied by a three-day UN 2023 Water Conference, in New York, the first majo ..read more

While Aklima sees herself as a facilitator, Pascaline wants to build her own sanitation marketing business The growing number of female leaders in water, sanitation and hygiene is improving communication with local communities and unleashing new approaches and ideas. On this year’s International Women’s Day, we focus on two of WSUP’s women who are transforming lives for people living in low-income urban communities, day in, day out. Aklima Khatun, WSUP’s Hygiene Specialist, Bangladesh The water, sanitation and hygiene sector involves complex operations in different areas, from planning to fina ..read more

The recent outbreak of cholera in the rural north of Mozambique, after the disease spilled from neighbouring Malawi, has highlighted the vital importance of proper hygiene and access to clean water and safe sanitation to safeguard the population’s health. It is also a sobering warning that rapid population growth, if not met with continuous improvement of services, will leave communities in highly dense urban areas very vulnerable to diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera. Since cholera spread in Malawi throughout 2022 and early 2023, with around 37,000 cases and more than 1,200 associated dea ..read more

Since 2010, WSUP’s school programme in Mozambique has improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions in 16 primary schools in Maputo. Tens of thousands of children and their local communities have benefitted from new facilities and hygiene campaigns in an effort that has led to policy change. On Thursday, the 2nd of February, 2023, the community at Maputo’s Artur Canana primary school gathered for a special event. Councilor of Education and Sports, School Director, teachers, pupils and community leaders celebrated the inauguration of new sanitation blocks, with separate structures fo ..read more

In Livingstone, south of Zambia, and Malindi, on the Kenyan coast, unsafe pit emptying services create public health risks for both workers and the community. The TRANSFORM project, implemented by WSUP and Sanivation, with support from Unilever, EY and UK Aid, offered legal, reliable and healthy pit emptying alternatives in low-income areas, with pilot projects tested in both Zambia and Kenya. Winnie Chongwe has been a resident of the are Zecco, in Livingstone, for over 10 years. As part of her household sanitation, she used to travel to the capital, Lusaka, to purchase a chemical that she wou ..read more