Guidelines on sanitation and health
Ensuring universal access to safe sanitation systems everywhere, including households, healthcare facilities, schools and workplaces is essential in reducing disease, improving nutritional outcomes, enhancing safety and educational prospects, especially for women and girls, and contributing to overall well-being.
The WHO Guidelines on Sanitation and Health summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of a range of sanitation interventions and provide a comprehensive framework for health-protecting sanitation, covering policy and governance measures, implementation of sanitation technologies, systems and behavioural interventions, risk-based management, and monitoring approaches.
Critically, the guidelines articulate the role of the health sector in maximizing the health impact of sanitation interventions.
The guidelines also identify gaps in the evidence-base to guide future research efforts to improve the effectiveness of sanitation interventions.
Guidelines on sanitation and health
Evidence reviews
Comprehensive systematic reviews were conducted to underpin the guidelines recommendations and good practice actions. Reviews cover key outcomes including adoption and use of sanitation facilities, indicators of faecal exposure, health (infectious diseases, nutritional status, well-being) and educational outcomes. Published reviews can be accessed free of charge from the following links:
- Assessing the impact of sanitation on indicators of fecal exposure along principal transmission pathways: A systematic review
Sclar GD, Penakalapati G, Amato HK, Garn JV, Alexander K, Freeman MC, Boisson S, Medlicott KO, Clasen T. - The impact of sanitation interventions on latrine coverage and latrine use: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Garn JV, Sclar GD, Freeman MC, Penakalapati G, Alexander KT, Brooks P, Rehfuess EA, Boisson S, Medlicott KO, Clasen TF - Effects of sanitation on cognitive development and school absence: A systematic review
Penakalapati G, Alexander KT, Krauss J, Freeman MC, Boisson S, Medlicott KO, Clasen T. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28697975 - The impact of sanitation on infectious disease and nutritional status: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Freeman MC, Garn JV, Sclar GD, Boisson S, Medlicott K, Alexander KT, Penakalapati G, Anderson D, Mahtani AG, Grimes JET, Rehfuess EA, Clasen TF. - Exploring the relationship between sanitation and mental and social well-being: A systematic review and qualitative synthesis
G.D.Sclar, G. Penakalapatia, B.A. Caruso, E.A. Rehfuess, J.V. Garn, K.T. Alexander, M.C. Freeman, S. Boisson, K. Medlicott, T. Clasen