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The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been declared as a pandemic, attributed to its high infectivity and transmission ability. The concern of meeting the growing water needs of refugee settlements is alarming, even more so in the face of COVID-19. It is crucial to address the water-based needs of refugee populations first as placing attention towards water-based needs will be beneficial in the long-term by inhibiting the outbreaks of other waterborne diseases in refugee settlements. [Extracted from the article]

One of the major challenges for deploying sustainable sanitation technologies and services around the world is financing. The present study applied both qualitative (key informant interviews) and quantitative (household survey) methods to explore sources of alternative financing in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, towards deploying sustainable sanitation technologies and services. Microfinance organizations, government subsidies and mining industries may represent potential sources of financing for the implementation of sustainable sanitation technologies and services in Mongolia. Moreover, building social capital among Ger residents and reinventing the idea of ‘corporate WASH responsibility’ could constitute new directions for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This note from the field shows a novel, hybrid concept of a constructed wetland for the first time in a water-stressed region in the coldest capital in the world, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. After selecting a suitable household compound, an ‘Ice-Block Unit’ was designed and constructed to assess its technical performance and capacity to reduce greywater-borne hazards during 2013 and 2014. This system was based on storing water during the winter freezing period as an ice block, and then starting treatment during the summer/non-freezing period. Results showed that the maximum removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH 4 + , NO 2 − , total suspended solids (TSS), PO 4 − , and Escherichia coli were up to 100%, 99%, 97%, 97%, 87%, and 98%, respectively. The effluent met the neighbouring country, China's, municipal discharge standard of A grade effluent and could also be considered restricted and unrestricted irrigation water as reported in other studies. The system has proven potential from a technical point of view and can be scaled up to community or cluster levels. This would enable reduction of greywater-borne hazards in low, middle and high income countries with similar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are limited studies that focus on greywater treatment and reuse options, particularly in nomadic societies with unique cultural and climatic conditions. Studies relating to household greywater treatment in nomadic-cultured societies are limited. This study aims to address this gap by examining a case with a high concentration of chemical components in the greywater (e.g. where chemical oxygen demand ranged between 35 and 70,032 mg/L). Specifically, an upgraded greenhouse greywater treatment unit (GH-GWTU) was designed and constructed during the summer of 2013 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in order to assess the technical feasibility, and up-scaling capability, of the system at the community level. Chemical and biological test results indicated that most parameters (e.g. PO 4 3 − , NO 2 − , NH 4 + ) had a high removal rate of up to 98%. Moreover, the greenhouse may extend the treatment period up to 8 months. This study has shown that GH-GWTU is a potential technology that can significantly reduce the chemicals and biological agents in greywater in Mongolian Ger contexts which may reduce the greywater-borne hazards and vulnerability in the area. It can be replicable both at the household and community scale according to resources available for system operation and maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present scoping study seeks to address the sources of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) exposure of residents of peri-urban Ger areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Field observations and semi-structured key informant interviews were carried out during 2012 and 2013 to assess the existing WASH situation in the peri-urban Ger areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In addition, a knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey was conducted by Action Contre la Faim (ACF) Mongolia in 210 households to identify the sources of WASH-borne hazards in a statistically representative way. Moreover, the quality of drinking water was analyzed both at the household ( n = 210) and water point (kiosk) ( n = 40) levels to assess the risk of chemical and pathogenic contaminants. Both field observations and interviews revealed that the sanitary environment of the Ger residents is characterized by the lack of a drainage system, unimproved sanitation technology (e.g. unhygienic pit latrines and soak pits), unsafe water supply, and insufficient collection, transportation, and storage mechanisms. Poor infrastructure is associated with low standards of living. The transmission of WASH-borne disease (e.g. diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A) is the gravest consequence and source of hazards. The results from the water quality analysis demonstrate that Ger residents are more exposed to biological contamination of stored drinking water by Escherichia coli during the summer (May to August) than in the winter (November to February). During the winter, 36% of household storage containers were contaminated by E. coli at an average level of 12.5 E. coli per 100 ml, while, during the summer, 56% of household storage containers were contaminated at an average level of 50 E. coli per 100 ml. KAP surveys further reveal that the common practice of Ger residents to discharge greywater (with higher chemical oxygen demand) into pit latrines, soak-pits, yards, and streets likely causes environmental pollution and health hazards. Multifaceted WASH-borne exposure was addressed by the scoping study such that various WASH interventions could be planned for the study area and beyond. To tackle the above challenges and problems, a range of appropriate interventions and programs are recommended to reduce the exposure of WASH-borne hazards in the study area and other parts of the world – in both urban and peri-urban settings. The recommendations include: the development and implementation of a water safety plan (WSP), an effective monitoring system for collection, transportation and storage at both water kiosk and household levels, user training for correct use of water containers, effective coordination among stakeholders (including urban planners), development of a household greywater disposal system, and implementation of a functioning solid waste management system. Prior to taking these actions, a detailed study on the ‘pollution load from peri-urban to urban’ should be carried out to assess the WASH-borne vulnerability of both peri-urban and central urban population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide-spread prevalence of unimproved sanitation technologies has been a major cause of concern for the environment and public health, and China is no exception to this. Towards the sanitation issue, toilet revolution has become a buzzword in China recently. This paper elaborates the backgrounds, connotations, and actions of the toilet revolution in China. The toilet revolution aims to create sanitation infrastructure and public services that work for everyone and that turn waste into value. Opportunities for implementing the toilet revolution include: fulfilling Millennium Development Goals and new Sustainable Development Goals; government support at all levels for popularizing sanitary toilet; environmental protection to alleviate wastewater pollution; resource recovery from human waste and disease prevention for health and wellbeing improvement. Meanwhile, the challenges faced are: insufficient funding and policy support, regional imbalance and lagging approval processes, weak sanitary awareness and low acceptance of new toilets, lack of R&D and service system. The toilet revolution requires a concerted effort from many governmental departments. It needs to address not only technology implementation, but also social acceptance, economic affordability, maintenance issues and, increasingly, gender considerations. Aligned with the ecological sanitation principles, it calls for understanding issues across the entire sanitation service chain. Public-private partnership is also recommended to absorb private capital to make up the lack of funds, as well as arouse the enthusiasm of the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The implementation of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has resulted in an increased focus on developing innovative, sustainable sanitation techniques to address the demand for adequate and equitable sanitation in low-income areas. We examined the background, current situation, challenges, and perspectives of global sanitation. We used bibliometric analysis and word cluster analysis to evaluate sanitation research from 1992 to 2016 based on the Science Citation Index EXPANDED (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases. Our results show that sanitation is a comprehensive field connected with multiple categories, and the increasing number of publications reflects a strong interest in this research area. Most of the research took place in developed countries, especially the USA, although sanitation problems are more serious in developing countries. Innovations in sanitation techniques may keep susceptible populations from contracting diseases caused by various kinds of contaminants and microorganisms. Hence, the hygienization of human excreta, resource recovery, and removal of micro-pollutants from excreta can serve as effective sustainable solutions. Commercialized technologies, like composting, anaerobic digestion, and storage, are reliable but still face challenges in addressing the links between the political, social, institutional, cultural, and educational aspects of sanitation. Innovative technologies, such as Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs), and struvite precipitation, are at the TRL (Technology readiness levels) 8 level, meaning that they qualify as "actual systems completed and qualified through test and demonstration." Solutions that take into consideration economic feasibility and all the different aspects of sanitation are required. There is an urgent demand for holistic solutions considering government support, social acceptability, as well as technological reliability that can be effectively adapted to local conditions. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Data for sanitation research from year of 1900 to 2016 have been collected and analyzed. • Hotspots for sanitation research have been discussed for future work based on the keywords data. • The constraints for global sanitation have been identified. • Promising technologies have been evaluated and proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anaerobic digestion technology has many advantages and is a sustainable way to produce energy, solve the crisis on energy shortage, and reduce waste stream and carbon footprint. In this field experiment, a mixture of food, fruits, and vegetable waste, dairy manure, and inoculum was anaerobically digested in a constructed water tank digester. This study was performed at ambient temperature under different organic loading rates (OLRs), which were increased every two weeks. Results showed that the optimum feedstock-to-inoculum ratio is 0.4, which resulted in highest specific biogas and methane yields (0.44 and 0.28 Nm3/kg VS, respectively). With the OLRs, the highest yield was observed at 1.4 kg VS/m3 average feeding. When the feedstock-to-inoculum ratio was increased from 0.4 to 0.8, the effect on biogas yield and the volatile solids decreased. Hence, the total cumulative biogas production was approximately 18.5 Nm3 per reactor volume. The pathogen concentration, which was determined in the feedstock and the effluent samples, revealed that the reduction efficiency was relatively low. On the basis of the performance of this field study, emphasizing household organic waste composed with other feed materials to produce bioenergy was feasible. Anaerobic co-digestion produces biogas, contributes to sustainable waste management, and reduces environmental pollution. This scientific study can play a fundamental role in implementing this technology at the household level for efficient biogas production in Bangladesh and worldwide. • A mixture of 5% food, fruit, and vegetable wastes was co-digested with dairy manure. • The inoculum was the only source of dilution media used to enhance the biogas efficiency. • The optimum feedstock-to-inoculum (F/I) ratio was 0.4 in this water tank digester. • A further increase in the F/I ratio reduced the production trend of biogas and CH 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]