Sanitation and hygiene : knocking on doors

Globally, diarrhoea kills more young children than malaria and tuberculosis combined. Alongside poor water quality, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene are the main culprits. Yet the sanitation gap is twice as large as that of water supply, an estimated 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation, while sanitation and hygiene investments lag far behind those in water and other social sectors such us health and education.
Recent research in francophone sub-Saharan Africa has examined the factors hindering, or helping, development of effective sanitation and hygiene policies, and implementation of programs on the ground. The study raises questions as to the conventional wisdom of allying sanitation and hygiene so closely with water policy, and as to how well adapted to the cause of sanitation and hygiene are the common rallying calls of that alliance : WSS, WES and WASH (water supply and sanitation, water and environmental sanitation, and water, sanitation and hygiene). The dynamics of sanitation and hygiene are, in many respects, different from water supply; yet, promotions of sanitation and hygiene currently revolves around water institutions and water policies.
The case for improvement of basic sanitation and hygiene services for poor populations should be taken to a wider development audience, in education, health, urban planning, and elsewhere. Key to this improvement is change in behaviour. This research confirms the complex challenges of influencing practices. Alternative strategies for basic sanitation and hygiene services in poor areas are best viewed within broader contexts of poverty.