WaterLinks Highlights the Role of Sanitation in Safe and Resilient Housing at WUF13

At the session “Sanitation as a Foundation for Safe and Resilient Housing: Lessons from Low-Income Cities in Asia-Pacific” on 19 May during WUF13, WaterLinks joined development partners, government leaders, housing organizations, and water and sanitation practitioners in emphasizing that safe, adequate, and resilient housing cannot be achieved without sanitation and basic urban services.

Co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UN-Habitat, Habitat for Humanity International, Asian Development Bank, and CWIS Nepal, the session gathered around 65 participants to discuss how sanitation, water, drainage, and other essential services form the foundation of livable communities, particularly in low-income and informal urban areas.

Representing WaterLinks, Yolanda Gomez, Senior Partnership Coordinator, highlighted the value of peer-to-peer learning through WOPs, where more experienced utilities support others “within the framework of brotherhood and solidarity.” The discussion also reinforced the need for stronger institutions, improved regulation, climate-resilient planning, and partnerships that enable service providers to reach underserved communities.

For WaterLinks and GWOPA, the session reaffirmed the importance of elevating sanitation within global urban development discussions and demonstrated how WOPs can help strengthen utility performance and expand access to safe sanitation services for communities most in need.