Information in the water and sanitation sector

The focus of this issue of Information Development is on information management at all levels of the water and sanitation sector. Two papers highlight the international dimension focusing on data collection, processing and dissemination by the World Meteorological Organization and on the use of software (WASAMS) to support a Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) to improve programme planning and management. A second group of papers addresses progress at the national level in Zambia, Sri Lanka, and Angola. The third group of papers looks at the conceptual framework for management information systems (MIS) in water and sanitation agencies on a regional basis. One paper focuses on Pakistan and other Asian countries, a second on Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Two other papers in this group discuss the problems of implementing information management and monitoring programmes in the Western Pacific and in Papua New Guinea. The focus of the fourth group of papers is the provision of information services to sector professionals. These papers describe the activities of teh Environmental Sanitation Technology Company, a pollution control agency in Brazil; the American Water Works Association, as a model for sector information managers in developing countries; and the Information Center of the Water and Sanitation for Health Project, which has established international information networks. Two articles in the fifth group describe the regional role of the Pan American Information Network on Environmental Health and the Network on Water and Sanitation of the African Medical Research Foundation, plus regional information networks in the Philippines, Jordan, and Thailand. Lastly, two specialist features outline the work of the IRC. The publication concludes that effective information management is essential for decision-making on water and sanitation strategies.