Importance of Policies and Key Concepts

Sanitation policies have often been unclear, contradictory or non-existent. With a few exceptions national level sanitation policy frameworks, within which national, state and municipal government agencies and the private and non-profit sectors operate, have not been adequate.

A growing body of practitioners and policymakers has come to recognise this as a key constraint to improving sanitation coverage and programme quality.

How can sanitation policies help improve sanitation coverage and programme quality?

• Good sanitation policies help to create an enabling environment that encourages access to and use of sustainable sanitation services. In turn this greatly facilitates the tasks of those concerned with sanitation provision on a large scale; good policies are critical for the replication and scaling-up of successful pilot programmes, improving access to services on a scale that matters.
• National sanitation policies can serve as a key stimulus to local action by including local initiatives in the overall strategy. By articulating needs and promoting the importance of sanitation, an effective national policy can promote the setting of priorities and provide the basis for translating needs into actions at different levels. In effect, sanitation policies help to create the conditions in which sanitation services can be improved.
• Sound policies set the scene for more sustainable and effective programmes. When widely accepted such policies are an expression of commitment and serve to articulate priorities and allocate resources for implementation. Without such policies in place, efforts to improve access to services will remain local in scope and will not have the support needed to expand efforts on a large scale.
• Policies help shape incentives. Policies and programmes are linked and each is linked to organizations. Policies often directly influence organisational actors. As programmes are implemented over lengthy periods they impact the incentives framework, challenging programme managers to maintain a fit between activities and policies. Thus, understanding the incentives at work and the interplay between policies and programming actors and interest groups, is essential to success.