Proper provision of sanitation in emergencies is considered a life-saving intervention. Without access to sanitation, refugees at emergency camps are at a high risk of contracting diseases. Even the most knowledgeable relief agencies have experienced difficulties providing sanitation alternatives in such challenging scenarios. This study developed a computer-based decision support system (DSS) to plan a sanitation response in emergencies. The sanitation alternatives suggested by the DSS are based on a sanitation chain concept that considers different steps in the faecal sludge management, from the toilet or latrine to the safe disposal of faecal matters. The DSS first screens individual sanitation technologies using the user's given input. Remaining sanitation options are then built into a feasible sanitation chain. Subsequently, each technology in the chain is evaluated on a scoring system. Different sanitation chains can later be ranked based on the total evaluation scores. The DSS addresses several deficiencies encountered in the provision of sanitation in emergencies including: the application of standard practices and intuition, the omission of site specific conditions, the limited knowledge exhibited by emergency planners, and the provision of sanitation focused exclusively on the collection step (i.e., just the provision of toilets).

There is a dearth of reliable cost data for urban sanitation. In the absence of high-quality global data, the full cost of sustainable implementation of urban sanitation remains uncertain. This paper proposes an approach for developing bespoke parametric cost estimation models for easy and reliable estimation of the costs of alternative sanitation technologies in a range of geographical contexts. A key requirement for the development of these models is the establishment of a large database of empirical information on the current costs of sanitation systems. Such a database does not currently exist. Two foundational tools are proposed. Firstly, a standard metric for reporting the costs of urban sanitation systems, total annualised cost per household. Secondly, a standardised approach to the collection of empirical cost data, the Novel Ball-Park Reporting Approach (NBPRA). Data from the NBPRA are presented for 87 individual sanitation components from 25 cities in 10 countries. Broad cost ranges for different archetypal systems have been estimated; these currently have high levels of uncertainty. Further work is proposed to collect additional data, build up the global database, and develop parametric cost estimation models with higher reliability.

Global estimates of emissions of greenhouse gasses do not take into account the complex service chain in rapidly growing cities in low- and middle-income countries. This paper presents an end-to-end analysis to estimate emissions from all stages of the sanitation-service chain, using Kampala in Uganda as an example. We show that emissions associated with long periods of storage of faecal waste in sealed anaerobic tanks (49%), discharge from tanks and pits direct to open drains (4%), illegal dumping of faecal waste (2%), leakage from sewers (6%), wastewater bypassing treatment (7%) and uncollected methane emissions at treatment plants (31%), are contributing to high levels of greenhouse-gas emissions. Sanitation in Kampala produces 189 kt CO2 e per year, which may represent more than half of the total city-level emissions. Significant further empirical and modelling work is required to update estimates of greenhouse-gas emissions from sanitation systems globally.

Closing the loop in the flow of C, nutrients and water between agriculture, the human diet and sanitation services offers benefits for humanity across multiple platforms of public health, food...

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