How Much Will Safe Sanitation for all Cost? Evidence from Five Cities

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Development Economics
• Public Health

Background:

• Global Sustainable Development Goals prioritize universal access to safely managed sanitation by 2030.
• Low-income countries face significant financial barriers in achieving urban sanitation targets.
• Understanding financial requirements is crucial for effective sanitation planning and investment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply methods for estimating the financial requirements for universal safely managed sanitation in urban areas of low-income countries.
• To compare the costs of different sanitation approaches, including household subsidies and municipal infrastructure.
• To provide data-driven insights for guiding sanitation investments and policy decisions.

Main Methods:

• Applied estimation methods in five cities across Kenya, Ghana, and Bangladesh.
• Collected detailed cost data from 76 key informants on sanitation infrastructure, products, and services.
• Surveyed 2381 low-income households to determine willingness-to-pay for sanitation services.

Main Results:

• Financial requirements varied significantly based on the sanitation approach implemented.
• Sewerage was the most expensive approach (USD 16-24/person/year), followed by container-based (USD 10-17/person/year) and onsite sanitation (USD 2-14/person/year).
• Mini-sewers connecting to communal septic tanks presented the most cost-effective option (USD 3-5/person/year).

Conclusions:

• The financial investment needed for universal urban sanitation is substantial and approach-dependent.
• Household subsidies and municipal infrastructure costs differ greatly across sanitation technologies.
• The developed methods can inform sanitation planning and resource allocation in similar urban settings globally.