Promoting Safely Managed Sanitation in Africa

Speak Up Africa places a strong emphasis on improving sanitation across the continent. When fecal sludge and wastewater are not properly managed, they can contaminate the environment, posing serious health risks to communities.

Through the Golden Sludge campaign, launched in 2016, Speak Up Africa works closely with national and international institutions responsible for developing and implementing sanitation programs. The campaign aims to raise awareness, increase prioritization, and foster commitment to improving access to adequate and equitable sanitation for all in Africa.

The Golden Sludge campaign was relaunched in 2022 at the 9th World Water Forum to:

• Increase political commitment to the Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines (ASPG) to drive policy review, development, and implementation.
• Drive effective policy dialogue and change at national and regional levels through the building of coalitions and the capacity of media and civil society.
• Contribute to an enabling environment at the national level for safely managed sanitation.
• Provide evidence and policy analysis to support the sanitation policy development and the creation of an enabling environment in Francophone West Africa.
• Galvanize a positive movement around sanitation in Africa through a public communication campaign.

Furthermore, to effectively reach our goal of creating awareness and improving access to adequate sanitation at a continental level, we launched an alliance of like-minded organizations called CAPOOP, Communications, Advocacy, Policy Opportunities and Outreach for Poop. It is a platform to coordinate our collective advocacy efforts towards raising the profile of sanitation and increase resource allocation for its management across Africa.