This tool helps local governments in rural areas assess and understand their municipality’s current sanitation status. It provides a roadmap for realizing the HRWS, always considering the needs of the entire population, including vulnerable groups.

By addressing gaps in sanitation and providing access to safe and adequate facilities, the tool helps reduce potential sources of conflict. When people have access to these basic services, potential conflicts are reduced, turning tensions into opportunities for social cohesion.

For instance, in peri-urban areas where space is limited and sanitation services are lacking, residents often resort to open defecation or using ‘flying toilets’ (plastic bags used for human waste disposal), causing neighbourhood disputes. Inadequate infrastructure can also lead to wastewater flooding disadvantaged areas, escalating tensions between communities. Improving sanitation services also supports dignity and safety, especially for women and girls, who face heightened risks of violence when safe toilets are unavailable.

By helping municipalities implement inclusive and sustainable sanitation solutions, the tool directly fosters social peace, reduces conflict, and builds stronger, more cohesive communities.

WASH-Flows is a tool designed to collect, analyse and share data on the status of WASH infrastructure in specific areas, using a human rights-based approach. By conducting household and community level surveys, WASH-Flows helps decision-makers and practitioners monitor the condition of sanitation facilities, enabling targeted improvements and enhancing resilience against climate change and environmental threats.

The tool identifies critical gaps in sanitation systems, such as broken, inadequate or inaccessible toilets, empowering governments, NGOs and investors to make informed funding decisions for upgrading or building new facilities. This effective resource allocation improves public health, protects the environment, and ensures long-term resilience in sanitation services, reducing pollution and preventing disease outbreaks.

Integrating a human rights-based approach into WASH-Flows also enhances understanding of equitable service distribution, ensuring that vulnerable and marginalized groups have access to safe, affordable and dignified sanitation.  

To make meaningful progress in sanitation and hygiene, collaboration across various stakeholders is essential.

Local governments: while governments have a responsibility to uphold the right to sanitation, many lack clarity on how to fulfill this obligation. Unfortunately, sanitation is often seen as a private issue, leading some governments to mistakenly believe it falls outside their remit. ONGAWA supports local governments by building their capacity and providing resources to drive community change.

Social organizations and civil society: partnering with social organizations and civil society representatives ensures inclusive decision-making, especially for women and the most vulnerable groups.

Directly community engagement: ONGAWA engages directly with communities, strengthening their capacity to drive sustainable changes in hygiene practices and expanding access to decent sanitation facilities.

Advocacy with donors: ONGAWA advocates for donors to invest in comprehensive, long-term sanitation programs rather than isolated infrastructure projects, which often prove unsustainable. Effective programs focus on changing hygiene behaviours, supporting operations and maintaining sanitation services over time, rather than merely providing access to infrastructure.

Local services provider and businesses: ONGAWA collaborates with local suppliers to enhance access to affordable sanitation services and hygiene products, particularly in low-income areas. This includes building durable latrines, safely emptying septic tanks and producing reusable menstrual hygiene products.