Improved sanitation (related to but distinct from a "

safely managed sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation sys ...

service") is a term used to categorize types of

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...

for monitoring purposes. It refers to the management of human feces at the household level. The term was coined by the Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

and WHO in 2002 to help monitor the progress towards Goal Number 7 of the

Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenn ...

(MDGs). The opposite of "

improved sanitation Improved sanitation (related to but distinct from a " safely managed sanitation service") is a term used to categorize types of sanitation for monitoring purposes. It refers to the management of human feces at the household level. The term was co ...

" has been termed "unimproved sanitation" in the JMP definitions. The same terms are used to monitor progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Target 6.2, Indicator 6.2.1) from 2015 onwards.WHO and UNICEF (2017
Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines
Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2017 Here, they are a component of the definition for "safely managed sanitation service". The Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation has been publishing updates on the global sanitation situation on an annual basis. For example, in 2015 it was reported that 68% of the world's population had access to improved sanitation. In 2015 this goal was replaced by Sustainable Development Goal 6, in which Target 6.2 states: "By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations." Indicator 6.2.1 is the "Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a handwashing facility with soap and water".Ritchie, Roser, Mispy, Ortiz-Ospina (2018
"Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals." (SDG 6)
''SDG-Tracker.org, website''

Definitions

Building latrines to improve sanitation (7554222218)

During SDG period (2015 to 2030)

In 2017, the JMP defined a new term: "basic sanitation service". This is defined as the use of improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households. A lower level of service is now called "limited sanitation service" which refers to the use of improved sanitation facilities that are shared between two or more households. A higher level of service is called "safely managed sanitation". This is basic sanitation service where excreta is safely disposed of in situ or transported and treated offsite. The definition of improved sanitation facilities is: Those facilities designed to hygienically separate excreta from human contact. The ladder of sanitation services includes (from lowest to highest):

open defecation Open defecation is the human practice of defecating outdoors ("in the open") rather than into a toilet. People may choose fields, bushes, forests, ditches, streets, canals, or other open spaces for defecation. They do so either because they d ...

, unimproved, limited, basic, safely managed.

During MDG period (2000 to 2015)

An improved sanitation facility is defined as one that hygienically separates human excreta from human contact.WHO and UNICEF (2012
Improved and unimproved water and sanitation facilities
, WHO, Geneva and UNICEF, New York, accessed on 15 June 2015 It is not necessarily identical with

sustainable sanitation Sustainable sanitation is a sanitation system designed to meet certain criteria and to work well over the long-term. Sustainable sanitation systems consider the entire "sanitation value chain", from the experience of the user, excreta and wast ...

. The opposite of "improved sanitation" has been termed "unimproved sanitation" in the JMP definitions. To allow for international comparability of estimates for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation defines "improved" sanitation as the following kind of toilets: * Flush toilet * Connection to a piped sewer system * Connection to a septic system * Flush / pour-flush to a pit latrine * Pit latrine with slab * Ventilated improved pit latrine (abbreviated as VIP latrine) *

Composting toilet A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried out b ...

Sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...

facilities that are not considered as "improved" (also called "unimproved") are: * Public or shared latrine (meaning a toilet that is used by more than one household) * Flush/pour flush to elsewhere (not into a pit, septic tank, or sewer) * Pit latrine without slab * Bucket latrines * Hanging toilet / latrine * No facilities / bush / field/ flying toilets (

) Whilst "shared" toilets are not counted as improved sanitation, data about usage of shared toilets is nevertheless reported in the annual progress reports of the JMP.WHO and UNICEF
Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-water: 2015 Update
', WHO, Geneva and UNICEF, New York

References

{{reflist, 2 Sanitation