What We Do /
Next Generation Sanitation
Next Generation Sanitation: a paradigm shift for sanitation and hygiene
Sanitation and hygiene have the power to define the quality of our lives, the health of our communities, and the future of our planet. But to achieve equitable access, especially in lower income contexts, a radical departure from the way we approach, and finance, sanitation and hygiene is needed.
Next Generation Sanitation focuses on creating sustainable, innovative, and scalable solutions to increase safely managed sanitation. The aim is to transform sanitation systems by leveraging market-based approaches and technology to improve access to sanitation services, enhance public health, and promote environmental sustainability, women’s empowerment and economic growth.
By integrating business strategies with social impact, Next Generation Sanitation seeks to generate economic value while addressing critical sanitation needs. This approach not only helps to close the sanitation gap in underserved communities but also stimulates local economies by creating jobs and supporting entrepreneurship in the sanitation sector.
Through partnerships with governments, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations and development finance institutions, Next Generation Sanitation aims to build resilient and inclusive sanitation systems that contribute to overall socio-economic development.
Next Generation Sanitation is a paradigm shift—an innovative synthesis of technological advancement, viable and sustainable financing, strong operations and maintenance, and user preference. It is designed to meet the necessities of rapidly growing populations while harnessing the opportunities to strengthen sustainability and circularity, placing climate resilience and gender equality at the center.
Technological advancement
Next Generation Sanitation includes systems that do more than manage waste; they reclaim it, repurpose it, and aim for scale and sustainability by reconfiguring the sanitation value chain and activating local sanitation markets.
In each target country, SHF works with subnational actors and utilities to improve capacity and conditions for local sanitation investment planning and infrastructure project financing. Through tailored capacity-building, SHF ensures that adequate business models are in palace, and supports technological innovations to make sanitation services more efficient, and affordable.
Viable financing models
Drawing on market-based approaches to sanitation, Next Generation Sanitation represents a unique investment opportunity and a business response to the global sanitation and hygiene crisis.
Based on advanced market maturity analysis, SHF works with countries and partners to develop tailored technical assistance (TA) packages to support the development of viable, scalable business and impact models and identify the right catalytic financing modalities - including public-private partnerships, blended finance, impact investing, and microfinance.
Read more about our Catalytic Financing approach here
Strong operations & maintenance
SHF works with countries to build and bolster the different components of the value chain to ensure toilets or handwashing facilities are not only created but also maintained, emptied and durable with waste being collected, transported and treated, including for reuse.
This helps ensure that communities not only benefit from access to products and services but their health and well-being is also ensured, along with that of the environment.
User preference
SHF works with countries looking to grow their sanitation economies based on their specific context and challenges that they face. While being product agnostic, SHF ensures that sanitation products and services are adapted to country contexts and to the community, accessible to all, taking in particular gender considerations into account.
Gender transformative
Investing in next generation sanitation is investing in women and girls. This is about providing products and services that meet the specific needs of women and girls as consumers, while ensuring that women are part of decision-making processes, that they have access to adequate financing as business owners, and that they benefit equally from job opportunities in the sector.
Read more about our gender transformative approach here.
Climate smart & regenerative
Next Generation sanitation not only offers significant investment potential with broad societal and economic benefits, it also reduces the environmental footprint and contributes to climate resilience.
Through the development of circular sanitation economies, improved environmental and climate outcomes are added to the economic benefits of job creation and activity created through every step of the value chain.
Read more about sanitation, climate and sustainability here.
