The year was 2015, and the diagram was a visualisation of excreta flows, colloquially known as a  Shit Flow Diagram (SFD). This radically simple tool, developed a few years earlier by a team of water and sanitation experts at the World Bank, was instrumental in convincing key decision-makers at international financial institutions, as well as at the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company, to widen the focus of a major new sanitation program beyond flush toilets, sewer pipes and wastewater treatment plants. 

At a critical moment, the SFD helped them see that it would be impossible to make significant improvements in Lusaka’s sanitation situation without addressing ‘the elephant in the room’ – the unsafe management of faecal sludge, the mix of faeces, urine, water and other solid waste that accumulates in the pits, tanks or vaults of sanitation facilities that are not connected to sewers.” 

Focusing on the experience of Lusaka, Zambia, Karen Birdsall highlights in her article how the Shit Flow Diagram can help to visualize the management of excreta in growing cities in Africa and Asia. The article emphasises the problem that sanitation needs of the poorest in these regions are often neglected, and how the SFD tool can support municipal authorities to prioritise investments. 

If you are interested in how the SFD Tool can benefit the organisation of the municipal sanitation system, this article will give a rich insight into the importance of understanding and communication sanitation needs, using the example of Lusaka. 

This article was originally published on Healthy Development in November 2021, and has been republished/repurposed here with permission. Read the original full article here.