WHO Guidelines on Sanitation and Health

The purpose of these guidelines is to promote safe sanitation systems and practices in order to promote health. They summarize the evidence on the links between sanitation and health, provide evidence-informed recommendations, and offer guidance for encouraging international, national and local sanitation policies and actions that protect public health. The guidelines also seek to articulate and support the role of health and other actors in sanitation policy and programming to help ensure that health risks are identified and managed effectively.

The main audience for the guidelines is national and local authorities responsible for the safety of sanitation systems and services, including policy makers, planners, implementers and those responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of standards and regulations. This includes health authorities and, since sanitation is often managed outside the health sector, other agencies with responsibilities for sanitation.