Local governments in both Mexico and the U.S. spend considerable money on public services, which do not always bring the expected results. For instance, a large part of the public budget is destined to solve social and health problems, such as public sanitation. Government has attacked the problem by providing public sanitation infrastructure (such as garbage and recycling receptacles) and by u...

It is estimated that at least two billion people have inadequate sanitation. The current situation in water and sanitation services for millions of peri-urban residents is starkly antipoor and represents a major challenge for the 21 century. By virtue of its cost and water requirements, we would argue that conventional sewerage is an implicitly anti-poor technology. This paper summarises low-co...

PROBLEM There is ongoing concern that governments at many levels are not devoting enough attention and resources to sanita tion services, particularly when compared to spending on water supply and other infrastructure services. Additionally, existing sanitation investments and service provision are not often pro-poor. Efforts to increase access to sanitation infrastructure often benefit better-...

The year 2005 marks the beginning of the "International Decade for Action: Water for Life" and renewed effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) to reduce by half the proportion of the world's population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015. Currently, UNICEF and WHO estimate that 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water supplies and 2...

background: despite many media campaigns by government and private sectors highlighting, water and sanitation treat­ment plans and policies, the public health problems are still common in different socioeconomic areas. the objective of our study was to explore the major public health problems prevailing in two different socio economic areas in karachi, pakistan. methods: a cross sectional surve...

Addressing the human right to water and sanitation in the slums of Mumbai, India requires disentangling the provision of basic services from a more complicated set of questions around land security and land ownership. Millions of slum-dwellers in Mumbai lack adequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which places them at risk for waterborne diseases. Many slums are located in hazard...

This socio-economic review provides an overview of the sanitation crisis in slum areas, and re-emphasizes the importance of sanitation. It highlights a lack of recognition of actual drivers for sanitation improvements, and the complexities in the provision of sanitation services in the context of urban slums with a mix of tenants and landlords. It elaborates how the drivers of demand for sanita...

This paper presents several innovative sociotechnical systems currently deployed in some Southern cities, which enable urban citizens to produce and disseminate Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) about their water and sanitation services. What happens to this information once online? The literature review reveals that actual uses of VGI remain relatively unstudied. A comparative and multi...