How does SaniPath complement other urban sanitation tools and approaches?
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Sanitation Programming and Policy
Urban sanitation tools can help fill knowledge gaps on a variety of information needs from engineering and technology, to urban planning. The tools generally fall into three categories: 1) Diagnostic Tools, 2) Prioritization Tools, and 3) Planning and Technology Choice Tools. The SaniPath Exposure Assessment Tool can be used as either a Prioritization Tool or a Diagnostic Tool. Data from SaniPath Exposure Assessments can supplement other tools and approaches diagnosing the public health risk and providing the evidence needed to prioritize action and form strategic plans.
For instance, the Shit Flow Diagram communicates how excreta physically flows throughout an environment, from defecation to disposal. Results from the SaniPath Tool are able to build on this knowledge by measuring the exposure risks from unsafely managed excreta specifically in the residential environment.
The SaniPath Tool can alsofit within the framework of other prioritization tools, such as the WHO's Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) Manual. The SaniPath Tool's targeted approach to identifying neighborhood-level exposures from different pathways supports the three objectives of SSP by:
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Systematically identifying risks of exposure to excreta
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Generating evidence to guide investments that maximize improved health outcomes
- Providing assurance to local authorities and the public that sanitation-related products and services are safe and evidence-driven
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Public health data is a necessary precursor to inform interventions and policy in the WASH sector that can improve health outcomes. The SaniPath Tool can help bring public health data and exposure thinking into the sanitation planning process and complement other tools and information that address engineering, urban planning, and financial considerations of WASH programming.
Examples of tools SaniPath complements:
An excreta flow diagram (also often described as shit flow diagram, SFD) is a tool to readily understand and communicate how excreta physically flows through a city or town.
Fecal Sludge Management Toolbox
The FSM Toolbox offers a suite of tools to assess the overall FSM ecosystem in the city and plan for infrastructure improvements. The assessment tool will help users generate a Shit Flow Diagram and a City Service Delivery Assessment.
WHO Sanitation Safety Planning Manual
Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) is a risk based management tool for sanitation systems. The manual focuses on safe use of human waste, and it assists users to: systematically identify and manage health risk along the sanitation chain; guide investments to manage actual risks to promote health benefits and mitigate health risks; provide assurance to authorities and the public on the safety of sanitation-related products and services.
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World Bank Report: Fecal Sludge Management Tools and Guidelines
This report describes diagnostic and decision-support tools to guide the improvement of FSM services.
Global Water Pathogen Project: Water Pathogen Knowledge to Practice (Water-K2P)
The Water-K2P project aims to provide tools that allow access to pathogen data on viruses, protozoa and bacteria to support sanitation safety planning by examining the flow of pathogens through the sanitation chain and into the receiving environment.
