7th International Faecal Sludge Management Conference Abidjan 2023

Faecal Sludge Management Alliance (FSMA) is a distinguished platform which promotes various activities about Faecal Sludge Management globally. For the first time, FSMA, in collaboration with African Water Association, conjointly hosted the 21st AfWA Congress & Exhibition and the 7th International Faecal Sludge Management Conference this year in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, between 19th and 23rd February. The conference, also known as Abidjan 2023, brought together a range of global stakeholders, providing them with cross-sectoral learning exposure in citywide inclusive sanitation, water management and Faecal Sludge Management.

Aditi Dwivedi, Jigisha Jaiswal, and Saubiya Sareshwala represented the Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS) this time by showcasing our work on this international platform through numerous panel discussions and paper presentations. They have presented five papers on diverse issues related to water and sanitation, including resource reuse, rethinking water management systems, citywide inclusive sanitation (CWIS), IT-enabled monitoring systems of CWIS, and finance mechanisms for sanitation activities.

CWAS moderated a special session jointly in collaboration with International Water Association (IWA) on scaling up inclusive sanitation. However, the highlight of this conference was the FSM-7 film festival, where the award for best film was conferred upon CWAS, acknowledging their work on Sinnar Sanitation Journey.