Towards sustainability in water, sanitation and hygiene : WASH Conference 2011, Brisbane, Australia : conference report

There is a global crisis in sanitation and water: almost two-fifths of the world’s population (2.6 billion) people do not have access to improved sanitation; and roughly one in eight people (884 million people) do not have access to safe water. An essential element in tackling this crisis is to build the knowledge and skills of people working in this sector. In 2011 practitioners and professionals from governments, donors and NGOs, students and academics, came together to discuss one of the greatest challenges to the water, sanitation and hygiene sector; sustainability. The WASH conference and training program focused primarily, but not exclusively, on WASH services provision in developing countries including; water supply systems (in villages, towns and cities); household toilets and sanitation facilities in public and shared areas (such as schools, clinics and markets); and hygiene promotion from community-based to campaign approaches. [authors abstract]