Plan Vietnam and Plan Australia have been piloting a participatory Gender and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Monitoring Tool (GWMT) since 2011, after staff recognised the gaps and challenges of measuring progress towards gender equality in WASH projects. Developed and revised over two successive trials held in ethnically diverse communities in central Vietnam, the GWMT enables local staff and government partners to explore and monitor gender relations in the implementation of WASH related activities.

Lack of basic sanitation and safe water is a major issue for women and girls who live in poor and overcrowded areas. This joint undertaking by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) collects and analyses noteworthy examples that illustrate the impact of women on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities, in order to show its potential for transformative change.

Summary of a project to address open defecation in Nepal

The top two killer diseases in the low-income countries is due to exposed risks of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Strengthening Water Sanitation and Hygiene Treasuring Health (SWASHTHA) adopted an integrated approach to reduce the health risks due to IAP and WASH. A combination of three approaches - Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Household Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES) and School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) was applied for sustainable promotion of IAP and WASH interventions.

Community led total sanitation (CLTS) is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to eliminate open defecation. Practical Action and Umande Trust implemented the project 'Realising the Right to Total Sanitation' in Nakuru, Kenya adapting this methodology to an urban context. This document documents the experience of this project.

Tackling the second-generation sanitation challenge in South Asia. While globally rates of access to improved sanitation remain woefully low, Bangladesh stands out as a country that has made remarkable progress in eliminating the scourge of open defecation. However, across the country’s growing urban centres, this success has created a so-called ‘second-generation’ sanitation challenge of how to deal safely with the faecal sludge collected from pit latrines and septic tanks. This challenge is likely to be replicated in many other countries as access to sanitation improves.