Global Sanitation Fund

The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) is a multi-donor United Nations trust fund that aims to help large numbers of people in developing countries improve their sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices.[1] GSF is an innovative way to finance sustainable development.[2]

Scope
Further information: Sanitation and Open defecation

Currently, 2 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, and 673 million defecate in the open.[3] Diarrheal disease, a preventable disease largely caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, is a leading cause of child malnutrition and mortality, claiming around 525,000 lives of children under 5 every year.[4]

The GSF, along with a diverse range of sector actors, aims to help address the sanitation and hygiene crisis [5] by enabling tens of millions of people to live in open defecation free (ODF) environments and access adequate toilets and handwashing facilities. These activities are also aimed at supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to sanitation and hygiene. The United Nations system has identified global funding for sanitation and hygiene as key to enabling member countries to achieve their national development targets.[6]

The GSF funds behaviour change activities to help large numbers of poor people in hard to reach areas attain safe sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices. These activities are described as being community-based, supporting national efforts, and bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders.[7] The GSF works with a range of prominent entities in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors including the World Bank, Water Aid, UN-Water, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, Global Poverty Project and the CLTS Foundation.

Community-led total sanitation is frequently utilized by GSF-funded national programmes, such as in Cambodia[8] and Nigeria.[9]

Countries of operation

The GSF currently funds, or has funded, national programmes in Benin, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. Results to-date are: 18.1 million people with access to improved sanitation facilities; 24.4 million people living in open defecation free environments; and 23.8 million people with access to basic handwashing facilities on premises.[10]

Funding

Governments in the following countries, mainly through the development assistance programmes, have contributed to the GSF. They are:

History

The GSF was established by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) to boost financing to countries with high needs for improved sanitation. It was first established in 2007, in response to the United Nations Human Development Report for 2006, which raised the issue of the global sanitation crisis.[17]

References
  1. Global Sanitation Fund: Investing in Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene (PDF) (Pamphlet). Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  2. Williams, Chris W. (13 July 2015). "Can We Finance Sustainable Development?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines (report). WHO / UNICEF. 2017. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease "Diarrhoeal Disease" Check |url= value (help). World Health Organization. May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  5. Walter, Elynn (January 2013). "Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: A Global Crisis With Real Solutions" (PDF). Dimension: 30–32. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  6. Schmidt-Traub, Guido; Sachs, Jeffrey D. (2015). Financing Sustainable Development: Implementing the SDGs Through Effective Investment Strategies and Partnerships (PDF) (Working paper). Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  7. "WSSCC Progress in Meeting Sanitation and Hygiene Needs". Horizon International Solutions Site. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  8. Community-Led Total Sanitation in East Asia and Pacific (PDF). UNICEF. 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  9. Okeke, Ebele (21 March 2014). "Women Show the Way in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  10. "WSSCC, WaterAid Promote WASH for Refugees and Schools". SDG Knowledge Hub. International Institute for Sustainable Development. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  11. "Australia's Aid Program". Australian Government Department of foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  12. "Developmental Policy and Developmental Cooperation". Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  13. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  14. "Front". NoradDev. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  15. "Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency". SIDA. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  16. "Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation". Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  17. St. Denis, Stephen (22 November 2007). "A Simple Working Toilet Is a Luxury For Too Many". Toronto Star. Retrieved 7 September 2015 – via Newspaper Source - EBSCOhost.
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