Policy Brief
Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS):
A New Public Service Approach for Leaving No One Behind
July 2023
Policy Brief Highlights
• Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) is a transformative approach to urban sanitation that seeks to provide safe and equitable services for all residents and those who visit or transit the city.
• Rapid urbanization and limited access to proper facilities present challenges.
• CWIS emphasizes inclusivity, sustainability, and accountability, guided by principles such as equitable access, gender and social equity, and safe management.
• The service framework focuses on achieving equity, safety, and sustainability. Implementing CWIS requires government commitment, stakeholder engagement, and policy frameworks.
• Policymakers must learn from successful reforms, set realistic expectations, encourage experimentation, and support integrated waste and water management.
• CWIS offers a promising solution to achieve comprehensive and inclusive urban sanitation systems.
Introduction
This policy brief outlines the concept of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) as a transformative approach to urban sanitation that seek to provide safe, adequate, and equitable sanitation services for all residents, those who visit and transit urban areas. By incorporating inclusivity, sustainability, and accountability principles, CWIS aims to address the challenges posed by rapid urbanization and limited access to safely managed sanitation services. This brief discusses the urban sanitation challenge, the transition towards CWIS, its fundamental principles, and the implications for policy and practice.
Urban Sanitation Challenge
Increasing urbanization makes the need for safe and equitable sanitation services critical. However, the current urban sanitation hardware statistics indicate a substantial need for access to improved sanitation facilities, especially in low-income communities. Predominantly, onsite sanitation solutions are in place, with minimal sewerage network coverage and treatment facilities for the collected material from onsite sanitation systems (Malawi NSO 2021). The challenge lies in providing inclusive sanitation services to all residents, regardless of their economic status or gender.
Moving Towards Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS):
To address the shortcomings of previous approaches and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders developed the concept of CWIS in 2016 (Gambrill et al., 2016). CWIS emphasizes a holistic service approach that includes safe faecal sludge management, resource recovery, The call to action highlighted the need for long-term planning, technical innovation, financial mobilization, and political will to achieve CWIS goals.
CWIS Principles
The following principles guide the CWIS framework:
a. Equitable Access: Ensuring that everyone benefits from safe and equitable sanitation services regardless of economic status or residency status.
b. Gender and Social Equity: Designing sanitation systems that address the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, children, and the physically challenged.
c. Safe Management: Ensuring human waste is safely managed along the sanitation service chain to protect public health and the environment.
d. Performance and Accountability: Establishing clear mandates and performance targets for sanitation authorities, supported by transparent financing and accountability systems.
e. Innovation and Adaptation: Encouraging the use of diverse technical solutions and adaptive approaches to sanitation planning and implementation.
f. Long-Term Planning: Fostering comprehensive, demand-driven planning informed by analysis of needs and resources, considering climate change and water-energy constraints.
CWIS Service Framework:
The CWIS service framework aims to achieve three core outcomes: equity, safety, and sustainability. It emphasizes the responsibilities of authorities to execute their mandates effectively, supported by performance monitoring, resource planning, and management. Integrating FSM interventions into citywide service systems improves the likelihood and scale of safe, equitable, and sustained sanitation services.
Making CWIS Work in Practice:
Institutionalizing CWIS principles within national policies requires strong government commitment, a clear policy framework, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and a robust monitoring and evaluation system. Advocacy efforts are needed to build an actionable understanding of CWIS concepts, drive inclusivity, and incentivize local innovations (Galli et al., 2014).
Implications for Policy and Practice:
To successfully transition to CWIS, policymakers and practitioners must:
a. Learn from successful reforms in other public service sectors to drive change management, innovation, and experimentation.
b. Set realistic expectations for the pace, scale, and depth of change required, recognizing the need for profound change management efforts.
c. Encourage experimentation and acknowledge failure by creating safe spaces for learning-by-doing while overcoming risk aversion and incentivizing innovation.
d. Support integrated urban waste and water management, as CWIS fosters resource optimization and environmental protection.
e. Consider integrated systems to advance sustainability and safety of service provision, especially in rapidly urbanizing areas.
f. Recognize the potential of CWIS in achieving city service goals and investments, including improved drainage, solid waste management, and overall urban development.
This brief was produced by Brighton Chunga, Mphatso Malota, Principal Mdolo and Madalitso Mng’ombe.
Study Author: Principal Mdolo, PhD Researcher (University of KwaZulu-Natal, RSA) and Lecturer (Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi).
Acknowledgements and funding:
This brief is based on the study author’s PhD work at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Republic of South Africa. The authors are grateful to the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Research and Development (WASH R&D) Centre, University of KwaZulu-Natal is acknowledged for providing Scholarship to Pursue a PhD which contributed to the current work. The authors are also grateful to the Ministry of Water and Sanitation (Malawi) and Water and Environmental Sanitation Network (WESNET) for providing an opportunity to present the findings at the 2023 National Wash Innovation Fair, which took place at Cross Roads Hotel, Lilongwe, Malawi and for designing this policy brief.
References
1. Galli, G., Nothomb, C., & Baetings, E. (2014). Towards Systematic Change in Urban Sanitation. Hague: IRC. Available at https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/201411_wp_towardssyschangeinurbansan_web.pdf
2. Gambrill, M., Rosenboom, J., Evans, B., Moe, C., Perez, E., Tremolet, S., Sturm, V., Stip, C., Huero, A., & Saywell, D. (2016). Addressing the Urban Sanitation Crisis: Time for a Radical Shift. Available at https://blogs.worldbank.org/water/addressing-urban-sanitation-crisis-time-radical-shift
3. Malawi NSO. (2021). Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2019-2020).
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