Can women bring a fresh perspective to the provision of global sanitation services? The co-authors of this book, through their strong socio-political and scientific experiences, believe this to be the case. The book offers a critical look at the challenges and solutions needed to achieve Sanitation for All, including for vulnerable people, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless, or internally displaced persons, and especially women. We present sanitation policy and decision making from the perspective of women, providing conclusions to the prevailing debates. In 2022, 43% of the world’s population lacked access to safely managed sanitation. Poor sanitation is linked to the transmission of diarrhoeal diseases, exacerbates stunting, and contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. In low-income countries, 5% of deaths are associated with unsafe sanitation. Poor sanitation affects mental well-being and safety, especially for women and children. Lack of sanitation costs around 2% of GDP (a figure that increases rapidly with epidemic outbreaks) because of income losses from trade and tourism and the impact on water quality. Besides being part of our human right to water, sanitation is essential to reach the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on poverty, health, education, gender, water, equity, cities and the sustainable environment. Nevertheless, convincing politicians to invest in sanitation is a daunting challenge since, in contrast to drinking water, it is not an immediate vote-winner and is perceived as an unpleasant topic for public discussion. Despite this, to achieve the SDG target by 2030, a five-fold increase on current rates of progress will be required. The role of women in sanitation planning and implementation is key, due to their leadership in communities and their ability to organise and guarantee the sustainability of systems. Furthermore, women’s care-giving nature at home and in their communities has led them to understand the importance of sanitation and being open to discussing it publicly; women stand ready to raise the profile of this subject, putting it on a higher level on the political agenda. This book is vital reading not just for women but all stakeholders and partners in the water industry, especially those working in the sanitation and hygiene sectors.
