Aims & Scope

The Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development is an Open Access peer-reviewed journal devoted to the dissemination of high-quality information on the science, policy and practice of drinking-water supply, sanitation and hygiene at local, national and international levels. It addresses the core public health needs and issues surrounding the provision of safe drinking water, safe sanitation and good hygiene practice to reduce infectious and non-communicable disease.

The journal publishes original contributions including research, analysis, review and commentary. It emphasizes issues of concern for disadvantaged communities and inequalities in services in countries at all levels of economic development, such as:

Water supply: intermittent supply, community and utility water supplies, water treatment, distribution, storage and use, water access and quality and the public health consequences of supply;

Water quality: microbiological, chemical and physical quality of water sources, water quality and water safety management, water treatment and processes, and the use of quantitative risk assessment approaches to assess public health consequences of water quality;

Sanitation: collection, transport, treatment, use, discharge, on-site and off-site sanitation, resources recovery and the public health consequences of poor sanitation;

Hygiene: behaviours, education, change and the public health benefits from improved hygiene;

Climate and environmental change: impacts of climate change on water supply, sanitation and water quality, adaptation of services, greenhouse gas emissions and water and sanitation, impacts of the ecological emergency on services and water quality;

Technical and managerial issues: characteristics of and constraints to conventional and innovative approaches, technical options and boundaries of technical application, emerging issues, emergencies and disasters, impacts on health, poverty and development, sustainability, demand, marketing, organizing supply chains;

Institutional development: roles of public and private sector, capacity building, governance, education and training

Financing and economic analysis: including cost-effectiveness and cost-benefits, role and impact of subsidies, user fees, financial instruments, innovations in financing;

Policy: examining all aspects and developments in the role of national policy on service provision, human rights and rights-based approaches policy, developing appropriate and scaleable legal and regulatory approaches, norms and standards;

International policy: international targets, conventions and agreements, UN and international policy, aid and aid effectiveness;

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development is published monthly.