Connecting the unconnected: approaches for getting households to connect to sewerage networks
Millions of households fail to benefit from sanitation investments because not enough sewerage infrastructure connects directly to households, according to a World Bank report released on World Toilet Day under the auspices of the Bank’s Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) initiative. The report, Connecting the Unconnected, examines why so many households that are near sewer lines and could feasibly connect still get left behind and remain unconnected to existing or new sewer networks despite growing investments in the trunk infrastructure. The report finds that a combination of a lack of information from service providers about the importance of connecting, people’s inability to pay the sewer connection fee or subsequent monthly bills, and social norms that work against change, serve as barriers that discourage households from connecting to sewer lines that often pass right in front of their homes.
