Cultural aspects

There are clear differences of attitude towards the use of sanitation facilities and the handling of excreta between diverse cultural groups. These attitudes can be based upon religious or cultural beliefs, gender or generational differences. Hence, sanitation facilities and their management have to fit the ‘socio-cultural’ bill and planners need to understand these attitudes when they are both designing and implementing sanitation projects.

However, selecting the most appropriate socio-cultural sanitation option, does not mean that it will automatically be successful. For example, when people migrate to urban areas they must adapt to living in a more densely populated area where poor sanitation can lead to a much greater risk of infection from pathogens than in rural areas. It should therefore be recognised that in most cases it will be necessary to train people in the correct use of the new facilities to ensure that best hygiene practices are maintained.

Under this topic you can find information on:

• socio-cultural aspects of sanitation
• how ecological sanitation fits into the different approaches towards sanitation
• useful publications on socio-cultural aspects of sanitation
• links to related studies.