Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa

5.5 Conclusions and recommendations

Most countries in Africa need to strengthen their WASH enabling environments by establishing resilient institutional frameworks, transparent governance systems and their associated instruments. In particular, the coordination of the sanitation sector needs to be strengthened so that sanitation receives equal attention to water supply. A number of countries are yet to establish sanitation and hygiene strategies to guide their sanitation sectors. These are required to define the technologies and approaches most suitable to the sector and to ensure the participation of all stakeholders. Besides the water and sanitation policies and strategies, specific programmes should focus on gender issues and sanitation for vulnerable groups, including the disabled. A small fraction of wastewater from African cities is receiving treatment, leading to the pollution of downstream water bodies. Suitable effluent disposal standards should be adhered to by each country to ensure environmental sustainability. The sanitation sector needs to be efficiently regulated. There are still quite a number of countries where regulation is spread across differentministries and government agencies.

A polluted stream in Nairobi

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SANITATION AND WASTEWATER ATLAS OF AFRICA