20 January 2014: The World Bank has released a report, titled ‘East Asia and the Pacific Region Urban Sanitation Review: A Call for Action,’ which provides an overview of urban sanitation in the region and an analysis of the urban sanitation sector. It also examines the drivers and factors of sustainable urban sanitation, and formulates recommendations.

Providing cases from Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam, the report organizes recommendations in four groups: people-centered policies; viable financial schemes; cost-effective technologies; and sustainable institutions for quality service.

The report calls for implementing policies to upgrade sanitation services and expand coverage through people-centered approaches. The report identifies several recommendations to achieve this, such as the adoption of City Sanitation Plans (CSPs), as well as the design and implementation of behavior change strategies. On cost-effective technical solutions, the report highlights: prioritizing collection and treatment of septage; collecting and treating wastewater at least cost; and adopting climate-smart sanitation strategies.

Development of city-wide sanitation strategies application of integrated urban water management are outlined as recommendations for creating sustainable institutions for quality services. The report finds that capital needs can be secured through a sanitation expenditure framework and consumer fees should be maximized to meet operating costs, in order to create viable financial schemes to expand and upgrade urban sanitation systems. [World Bank Press Release] [Publication: East Asia and the Pacific Region Urban Sanitation Review: A Call for Action]