Livilihoods in the Sanitary Economy

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Livilihoods in the Sanitary Economy

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INTRODUCTION In 2010 the United Nations (UN) recognised the human right to sanitation. Well over a decade later, with this right additionally embedded in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, billions of people still do not have access to safely-managed services. Unless sanitation coverage is addressed, global goals on health, education, economic development, gender and food security are unattainable. More than toilets alone, the sanitation value chain includes infrastructure, product and service providers, resource recovery of water, energy and nutrients, digital technologies and more. Importantly, sustainable universal access to sanitation requires coordinated action from governments, private sector, investors and civil society.

Since 2017, the Toilet Board Coalition has advocated for an approach to sanitation, the Sanitation Economy, which looks at the entire value chain; the products, services and ultimate value to customers and industry of this human right. In 2017, to make this idea more tangible, the Coalition published a first market estimate of the Sanitation Economy for India.

Our Members wanted to showcase the value and opportunities associated with universal access, rather than the cost burden of sanitation. Since that time, our methodology has strengthened, data availability has increased and, in particular, the potential of circular sanitation and also digital technologies has become increasingly apparent. Leading up to this report, in 2020, the Toilet Board Coalition, in collaboration with India’s esteemed NITI Aayog, developed a methodology to forecast both livelihood and Sanitation Economy opportunities.

This methodology has now expanded from India to cover three regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. The 2030 Sanitation Economy potential is detailed in the report, with research conducted by the Toilet Board Coalition in select countries across these regions. The findings reveal a potential market value of US$ 76.8 billion in SubSaharan Africa, US$ 493.9 billion in Asia, and US$ 19.2 billion in Latin America.

To harness fully the potential of the Sanitation Economy, a skilled workforce is essential. Livelihood opportunities are generated through the creation of jobs and economic activities related to sanitation services and products. With the aim of shaping and fuelling positive conversations and encouraging government and the private sector to prioritise sanitation investment, on the following pages we frame the Sanitation Economy market and livelihoods potential across Latin America, Africa and Asia through to 2030.

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