These Bible studies are designed to use in small groups. They may provide a useful introduction to a meeting where different topics from the Guide…

There is virtually no teaching in the Bible directly concerning sanitation except that found in Deuteronomy 23:12-13. These verses in the NIV Bible read:

by Richard Franceys Millennium Development Goal 7, target 10, seeks to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Community-driven initiatives could make an important contribution towards achieving this goal in urban areas.

Action in low-income communities  by Professor John Pickford of the Water, Engineering and Development Centre at Loughborough University of Technology.

Sanitation – not a subject any of us enjoy talking about! Because of this, it is easy to ignore the problems that poor hygiene and sanitation bring. We prefer to look at other ways of improving health which are easier to talk about. But lack of good sanitation is a huge health problem. The whole community suffers - all of us reading this have suffered from some of the unpleasant illnesses caused by poor sanitation. Does our love for our neighbours (Matthew 22:39) include improving poor ...

by Isobel Blackett. What makes a low-cost sanitation programme successful? Are a lot of latrines in the project area enough evidence to prove that success has been achieved?

Encourages changes in practice and understanding attitudes, with practical ideas to encourage hand washing, to keep food safe, to provide safe drinking water and maintain good health. It also includes advice on improving water supplies and building different types of latrines.

chlorine bleach a strong chemical that can be used to make water safe for drinking. cholera a serious disease causing severe diarrhoea with vomiting…

ANAL relating to the anus, through which faeces pass DEFECATION passing faeces from the body

by Anne McCulloch Knowing the best way to keep yourself and your family healthy is important. This is especially the case for the people of Darfur in Sudan, who have been displaced from their homes due to fighting and are living in cramped basic conditions in camps or with relatives. Tearfund is working to provide safe water and sanitation in these areas and give appropriate health messages so that people use the resources effectively.

We asked community facilitator Pratikchya Khadka of Share and Care Nepal about her sanitation and hygiene work. We hope you will be inspired by her experience of respectfully helping people to change their behaviour.

Why do sanitation programmes often fail? Here are some common myths about improving household sanitation, followed by explanations of why the reality is different.

by Sue Yardley. Reducing child and maternal mortality are targets within Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. In 2010 many donor governments and international agencies are focusing on these issues. There has been some encouraging progress in meeting these goals, but greater effort is still needed to achieve them. Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene education (WASH) can help significantly to improve the life chances of children and ...

by Awoyemi Olawale  Sanitation is not a priority in schools because people do not realise the need for a safe and clean environment. This attitude means that when there are many competing priorities, resources are allocated to academic activities while sanitation is neglected. But good sanitation facilities, such as latrines, safe drinking water supply, and hand-washing facilities, are important for the success of basic education.  

by Isobel Blackett. In 1981 the Government of Lesotho made a commitment to improve the water and sanitation if the country. An initial Urban Sanitation Project was started. By 1983 this project, known as the Urban Sanitation Improvement Team (USIT), was well established and a Rural Sanitation Project (RSP) was beginning work, based on some of USIT’s experiences.

This Guide helps communities to consider improving their lifestyle to reduce disease and infection. Promoting effective and low-cost sanitation,…

It is widely accepted that the success of a Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) process depends mostly on the skills of the facilitator. This is because in most cultures defecation is considered a private, personal activity, which should not be publicly discussed.

Compiled by Richard Franceys and Isabel Carter. When the decision to build a pit latrine is made, then there are many things to consider…

Afshin* is a farmer who lives in a small village in Afghanistan’s Central Highlands. There are 14 families in the village where his family and his…

Sanitation and cleanliness for a healthy environment (2005) by J Conant. Hesperian Foundation and UNDP Encouraging change: Sustainable steps in water…

by Frank Greaves and Laura Webster

by Martin Allaby and Christine Preston The Yala Urban Health Programme (YUHP) was originally set up by the United Mission to Nepal to respond to urban health problems in the city of Patan, Nepal. However, in 1998 the key priority became the gradual transfer of responsibility for this successful healthcare programme to full government control. This article looks at the process of transferring responsibility and highlights the success factors.

On World Toilet Day we want to celebrate the life of one remarkable woman who dared to believe that she could make a difference. When Anita Narre…

The work of removing human waste (sometimes called night soil) from homes that lack adequate sanitation systems, is regarded as the lowest of all work in India. It is carried out by people called Harijans, belonging to the caste known as the Untouchables.

Practical ways to improve access to toilets and safe water

Clean water and safe sanitation improve everyone’s health and opportunities in life. When people have clean water and safe sanitation, many diseases are less easily spread. But why is good sanitation so difficult to achieve?

Good health is a great blessing. None of us enjoy feeling unwell. We have all had times of feeling unwell. Sometimes this is because we catch an…

Good hygiene in handling food is very important. However, it is also important to make sure that the dishes and utensils used for serving food are…

Conditions in the area where we live will have a large impact on our health. Here is a useful exercise to consider the situation in our local area…

If people do not have access to latrines, then burying faeces in the ground is a simple step that will improve hygiene. It will reduce people’s risk…

Latrines need to be built near the house but at least 20 metres from any water source. The walls can be built of mud, brick, matting or corrugated…

Young children are often afraid to use a latrine. They may be unable to open the door, afraid of the dark or the pit. However, even young children…

Latrines take a long time to plan and build well. Sometimes there may be situations when there is no time to build proper latrines, such as after…

People are more likely to respond to positive messages that respect their reasons for doing things, rather than to warnings about dirt. Share…

After a time of sharing the messages learned from this Guide with people in the community, it is good to assess their impact. We need to know whether…

All of us are influenced by our situations and our culture. Our beliefs about hygiene and how illness is spread depend very much on what we learn as…

In this Guide we will learn many useful messages that we can share with people to help them to live healthier lives. It is very helpful to first find…

Most of the time when we look at our hands, they seem clean. However, they can look clean but still be covered by many thousands of tiny microbes.…

It can be hard to encourage people to wash their hands if they don’t see the need. If we know what people believe about washing hands, we can share…

We have already learned about the importance of keeping our hands clean. The rest of our body also needs to stay clean. Every day we should wash our…

When people get diarrhoea, they can lose a lot of water and salts from their body very quickly. Babies and young children suffer most. In many…

by Dr Ambika Rajvanshi Asha is a health and community development programme in New Delhi, India, that believes it is not enough simply to provide medical care in the slum communities. It believes the only way to bring about real and lasting improvements to these communities is through a holistic approach to community health.