Issues to Consider

This section addresses some issues to consider in working with national sanitation policies, including the importance of policy process. Topical issues, the "drivers" of a particular policy-making effort, will change over time, though a number of important dimensions to sanitation policies appear particularly relevant.

• International attention to the importance of sanitation is on the rise. There is a growing consensus that sanitation is a "basic right". This will give impetus to developing policies that enable governments to set priorities and allocate resources. Further, the endorsement for sanitation as a Millennium Development Goal (August 2002) is a significant step to raising the profile for this issue and encouraging the development of national sanitation policies.

• Water supply and sanitation are linked. While sanitation has often been given distant consideration behind planning for water supply, an increased focus on sanitation need not forget the linkage. There are important linkages to water supply in financing, management of services, hygiene behaviour change and technical considerations. Nevertheless, a senior level public official equal in status with whoever is responsible for water supply should be entrusted with the responsibility for sanitation if progress is to be made.

• Public health concerns have often been a factor in drawing attention to the need for expanded sanitation coverage. This will remain so and, in future, the increased emphasis on preserving and improving the natural environment will also encourage attention to the need to change behaviour patterns and expand sanitation services.

• Financing sources for service improvement and expansion will be a continual challenge. Prioritising adequate resources to meet demand for sanitation services is an issue with economic, political and social dimensions.

• Many governments, international development organisations and NGOs have policies for gender and social equity. Sector policies and programmes are increasingly subject to public scrutiny and accountability on these issues and good policies and programmes should take them fully into account.

Sanitation policies require coordination with multiple stakeholders as a number of groups and actors share responsibility for sanitation services. Agencies involved in health, water, environment, finance, national and local government, urban and rural leadership bodies, communities and individuals in different groups can all be involved in sanitation issues. Success in managing policy contexts depends on more than simply defining new policies or identifying which policies are important, or negotiating with key stakeholders on those policies. Technical issues and process are also important to success.