Shared sanitation is defined as
sanitation facilities of an otherwise
acceptable type that are shared
between two or more households,
including public toilets.
Sanitation facilities that are shared
among households, whether fully public
or accessible only to some, are not
considered improved according to the
definition used for the MDG indicator.
The reason stems from concerns that
shared facilities are unacceptable
both in terms of cleanliness (toilets
may not be hygienic and fully separate
human waste from contact with
users) and accessibility (facilities may
not be available at night, or used by
children, for instance). However, it
is also recognized that, globally, the
number of people using shared sanitation
is growing: The number of users
has increased by 425 million since
1990 increasing from 6 per cent of
the global population to 11 per cent in
20 years. In many countries, particularly
in crowded urban areas, shared
sanitation is the only viable option for
those wishing to avoid open defecation;
in rural areas, families often
keep costs down by sharing latrines
between one or more households with
family ties. A JMP task force on sanitation
is exploring the issue of shared
sanitation as part of its mandate.
Shared sanitation is predominantly an
urban phenomenon, and over 60 per
cent of people using this type of facility
live in urban areas (Figure 24).
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