One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, non-human animals and ecosystems. It recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and inter-dependent. 

Schools around the globe struggle to provide good and well-maintained school sanitation facilities. The Toilets Making the Grade® school competition helps improve just that in a creative and fun way that will benefit schools, as well as local authorities, donors and NGOs. Improving sanitation can often start with simple and creative steps, which is why the competition is so motivating. After all, who wouldn't be motivated to improve school toilets if there was something to win?

Water is the condition for (a healthy) life, which is why access to clean tap water and sanitation has been included as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Agenda 2030, the international agreement for global development. In a global comparison, Germany is very well positioned, but we increasingly have to deal with issues such as water pollution and - due to the increasing impacts of climate change - water scarcity too. In reference to sanitation in Germany, the main question we have to ask ourselves is how we can use our tap water as economically as possible. Because of its outstanding quality in Germany it should end up in the Germans' stomachs rather than in their toilets.

In 2023, members of the SuSanA Secretariat, Global Steering Committee, Forum Moderators and the Africa Chapter met during the Policy and Practice Forum organized by the Center for Sciences and Environment (CSE). The Secretariat conducted an interview with some SuSanA members on the theme of "Decolonizing the WASH Narrative". This interview touched on the shift in knowledge ownership, representation and collaboration between the global North and South in the WASH sector.

Elisabeth von Muench, former moderator of the SuSanA discussion forum, is a dedicated Wikipedia editor. With over nine years of editing experience and nearly 50,000 edits to her name, she ranks among the top 2,000 editors globally for the English Wikipedia. Through volunteer work and paid assignments, she has improved and written numerous Wikipedia articles on WASH, climate change, and SDGs. In this interview with Paresh Chhajed-Picha, Elisabeth explains her motivation, the need for wider participation in editing Wikipedia articles, and the challenges in doing so. 

This article was originally published on The News Minute on 28th May 2023, and has been republished/repurposed here with permission. Read the original article here. 

As women, shame enters our being in many ways — when an older man leers at our barely-sprouted breasts, when we are body-shamed or slut-shamed, and sometimes even when our brilliance dazzles. The fault, we’re told, is always ours. For most of us, shame is an all-too-familiar companion, and all that differs are our coping mechanisms. But perhaps nothing shames us as much, as persistently, and for as long as the fact that we menstruate. 

On this special occasion of World Toilet Day, we are honoured to have Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation, join us for an enlightening conversation. After founding 16 companies and gaining financial independence at 40, Prof Jack Sim retired from business to devote the rest of his life to social development. He founded the World Toilet Organization in 2001, made the 19th November the official UN World Toilet Day approved by all 193 countries at the UN General Assembly, and broke the taboo on Sanitation globally. He is fondly known as Mr Toilet by the global media and is a founding member of SuSanA since 2008. In this interview, Mr Sim shares his insights on a range of critical issues, from his pioneering efforts to shift global media attention from water to sanitation, to the profound impact of the lack of toilets and proper sanitation on women. He also sheds light on the urgent need to break the taboo surrounding toilets and sanitation, and the steps needed to ensure that sanitation takes its rightful place on the global agenda.

Two weeks ago, the SuSanA Secretariat together with the SuSanA Global Steering Committee (GSC), SuSanA members and key partners from around the world attended the Stockholm World Water Week and were able to speak on behalf of the Sanitation Community. But before the World Water Week even started, the Secretariat and the GSC spent several days planning for the future of SuSanA, discussing important topics such as the institutional change process, funding, upcoming topics and trends, the regional chapters or cooperation with other networks. These days have been very intense, but also, we feel that we now are more aligned with what the next steps for SuSanA are!

What a great week it has been!! The SuSanA Secretariat together with SuSanA members and key partners from around the world attended the conference and were able to speak on behalf of the Sanitation Community. Thanks to the efforts of many individuals, SuSanA was able to advocate for the inclusion of sanitation and hygiene as a prerequisite for access to safe and clean water