Urban Sanitation Research Initiative 2017-2020: Driving Sector Change in Urban Sanitation

The Urban Sanitation Research Initiative aims to make a substantive contribution to achieving universal urban sanitation coverage in low-income contexts. This will be achieved through a) direct research-into policy impacts in focus countries, b) contribution to research capacity development in focus countries, and c) contribution to global understanding of how to achieve universal urban sanitation.The research will contribute to the evidence base available to in-country actors including national and city governments, and to major international donors and financing institutions. Research will reflect WSUP's core philosophy that at-scale improvement in urban WASH essentially requires two things: market thinking, including the development of dynamic small businesses in the WASH service delivery sector, and institutional change, including substantially increased government investment in WASH services for low-income communities

Analyzing urban poverty: a summary of methods and approached

In recent years an extensive body of literature has emerged on the definition, measurement and analysis of poverty. Much of this literature focuses on analyzing poverty at the national level, or spatial disaggregation by general categories of urban or rural areas with adjustments made for regional price differentials. Yet for an individual city attempting to tackle the problems of urban poverty, this level of aggregation is not sufficient for answering specific questions such as where the poor are located in the city, whether there are differences between poor areas, if access to services varies by subgroup, whether specific programs are reaching the poorest, and how to design effective poverty reduction programs and policies. Answering these questions is critical, particularly for large, sprawling cities with highly diverse populations and growing problems of urban poverty. Understanding urban poverty presents a set of issues distinct from general poverty analysis and thus may require additional tools and techniques. This paper summarizes the main issues in conducting urban poverty analysis, with a focus on presenting a sample of case studies from urban areas that were implemented by a number of different agencies using a range of analytical approaches for studying urban poverty. Specific conclusions regarding design and analysis, data, timing, cost, and implementation issues are discussed.Public Health Promotion,Poverty Reduction Strategies,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Urban Partnerships&Poverty,Poverty Reduction Strategies,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Assessment,City Development Strategies

Projecting Progress: Are Cities on Track to Achieve the SDGs by 2030?

This report explores for the first time the scale of the challenge for 20 cities across the world to reach selected targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than half of the targets included will require a profound acceleration of efforts if they are to be achieved by the majority of selected cities. Targets that are not on course to be met by the majority of cities studied include ending child malnutrition, achieving full and productive female employment, access to adequate housing and access to drinking water and sanitation.The report makes a series of recommendations to increase progress towards the SDGs, including:Central governments and donors should work to strengthen local governments' capacities.Government and city administrations should invest more in ways to monitor progress on the SDGs.Statistical offices' and cities' information systems should improve the data available

Implementing Support Vector Machine Algorithm for Early Slum Identification in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia Using Pleiades Images

Slums are one of the urban problems that continue to get the attention of the government and the city of Yogyakarta. Over time, cities continue to experience changes in land use due to population growth and migration. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the existence of slums continuously. The objectives of this study are to conduct early identification of the slum using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) Algorithm, which is applied to the Pleiades Image in parts of Yogyakarta City, to test the accuracy of the slum mapping results generated from the SVM compared to the Slum Map of the KOTAKU Program. The data used are Pleiades Image, administrative maps, and existing slum maps of the KOTAKU Program, which are used to test the accuracy. The method used is Machine Learning with a Support Vector Machine Algorithm. The parameters used for early identification of the slums are the characteristics of the object (characteristics of buildings), settlement (density and shape), and the environment (location and its proximity to rivers and industries). We separate slum and non-slum based on texture, morphology, and spectral approaches. Based on the accuracy test results between the SVM classification results map of the slum and the map from the KOTAKU Program, the accuracy is 86.25% with a kappa coefficient of 0.796

No toilet at home: implementation, usage and acceptability of shared toilets in urban Ghana

In Ghana, over 70% of urban dwellers do not have private sanitation facilities in their home and rely instead on an informal network of shared toilets. The predominance of shared toilets in Ghana is the result of unplanned urbanization, specific features of housing, socio-economic characteristics of the population and political orientations. Shared sanitation includes a whole range of models from large toilets blocks owned by the municipality to toilet cubicles shared by tenants of the same house. Shared toilets are not considered as improved sanitation facilities as access for vulnerable groups, maintenance, hygiene, privacy and safety of the users are not always guaranteed. However, for millions of urban dwellers, shared toilets are the only alternative to open defecation and are used daily. Some of these facilities, through better management models and through better standards, provide services appreciated by the users. The aim of this research is to determine which models of shared facilities are acceptable sanitation solutions for urban dwellers, depending on the local circumstances. To do so, the research framework compares the perspectives of dwellers and sanitation providers, acknowledges the characteristics of the specific urban context and considers the relationships between the key stakeholders. In a fast growing city in Ghana, Ashaiman, 432 house units representing over 8000 residents were surveyed, over 40 participatory exercises and 38 interviews with a range of stakeholders were conducted. This research concludes on four main points. Firstly, many apparently similar areas are actually not uniform; the heterogeneity of urban planning and housing influences any past and future sanitation developments. Urban planners need to integrate sanitation in their future decisions but base these on appropriate solutions. The second finding is that some models of shared sanitation can be considered as adequate given the particular context and its likely evolution. The different models have legitimacy at different stages of urban development and their successful selection depends on the quality of the contextual understanding. Thirdly, cleanliness and affordability are key determinants when the dwellers select shared toilets. Given the toilet options available, these determinants are often mutually exclusive and are a dilemma for the users. This dilemmas result in variations in use of shared toilets within a neighbourhood, and at intra household and individual levels. The final point is that choice and then acceptability of a facility depends on the options available. Therefore deciding which facilities are best adapted to the local context should be in the hands of both local providers and dwellers, supported by other local stakeholders who enable relationships through adapted policies and facilitated dialogues

Stuck in Slums: A Case Study of Slums in Islamabad, Pakistan

This paper focuses on finding answers to the reasons why people keep living in the slums and why they cannot get out of their precarious conditions. This paper looks into different reasons for people being stuck in slums from a religious perspective. Reasons for different religious groups being stuck in slums are not explored fully in the literature. The analysis draws on qualitative research with a sample of 53 semi-structured interviews conducted in 8 katchi abadis in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study shows that slums are nonhomogenous entities and are regarded as a living organism that provide safety, security, and a sense of belonging to some of the residents. The results revealed that both Christian and Muslim slum residents had different reasons for living in slums. There were not only inter-religious differences in the choice of living but intra religious differences had also been found. In the process, the paper highlights that most Christians lived in slums by choice due to strong social capital, with an exception of a few. On the other hand, Muslim slum residents lived in poverty which was a major reason most of the slum dwellers are stuck in slums. Policymakers should meet the needs of the people before implementing any policies. This is because relocation policies can bring misery to some of the slum dwellers. Finally, the paper demonstrated that slums play a pivotal role in the lives of the slum dwellers in keeping them

Social factors influencing child health in Ghana

Objectives Social factors have profound effects on health. Children are especially vulnerable to social influences, particularly in their early years. Adverse social exposures in childhood can lead to chronic disorders later in life. Here, we sought to identify and evaluate the impact of social factors on child health in Ghana. As Ghana is unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals’ target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, we deemed it necessary to identify social determinants that might have contributed to the non-realisation of this goal. Methods ScienceDirect, PubMed, MEDLINE via EBSCO and Google Scholar were searched for published articles reporting on the influence of social factors on child health in Ghana. After screening the 98 articles identified, 34 of them that met our inclusion criteria were selected for qualitative review. Results Major social factors influencing child health in the country include maternal education, rural-urban disparities (place of residence), family income (wealth/poverty) and high dependency (multiparousity). These factors are associated with child mortality, nutritional status of children, completion of immunisation programmes, health-seeking behaviour and hygiene practices. Conclusions Several social factors influence child health outcomes in Ghana. Developing more effective responses to these social determinants would require sustainable efforts from all stakeholders including the Government, healthcare providers and families. We recommend the development of interventions that would support families through direct social support initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty and inequality, and indirect approaches targeted at eliminating the dependence of poor health outcomes on social factors. Importantly, the expansion of quality free education interventions to improve would-be-mother’s health knowledge is emphasised

Strengthening pro-poor targeting of investments by African utilities in urban water and sanitation - the role of the International Development Association of the World Bank: Case studies from Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tanzania

This report for WaterAid presents findings from research into the impact of selected IDA-funded projects on water supply and sanitation services in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on the impact on poor areas and households