Guidelines for Developing Inclusive Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Infrastructure

Accelerating infrastructure development is key to responding to global challenges, but we must ensure that we leave no one behind.

The world is facing grave challenges that place the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in jeopardy. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out more than four years of progress in poverty eradication, armed conflicts have caused a record 100 million people to be forcibly displaced, and climate change has induced heatwaves, droughts and floods that affect billions of people. Infrastructure development must be accelerated to respond to these challenges and address development gaps. These guidelines promote the development of inclusive WASH infrastructure through a participatory and integrated approach. This includes three main concepts that underpin the entire publication: leave no one behind (LNOB), meaningful participation, and an integrated approach to quality infrastructure development.

The purpose of this publication is to strengthen the capacity of governments, infrastructure practitioners and other actors to implement an inclusive approach to developing WASH infrastructure in the Global South. This publication takes an integrated approach by providing guidelines and recommended actions that consider integrated solutions across the entire life cycle of infrastructure development. These recommendations can be broadly categorized as solutions towards strengthening the enabling environment, prioritizing inclusive solutions, delivering inclusive solutions well, and maximizing the system performance of existing built assets while linking directly with the natural environment. This includes three main concepts that underpin the entire publication: leave no one behind, meaningful participation, and an integrated approach to quality infrastructure development.