The Sanitation Learning Hub is a participatory programme aimed at facilitating timely and actionable learning and research on sanitation and hygiene.

3.6 billion people don’t have their own safe toilet. Living without a toilet and handwashing facilities can cause health issues for the whole community, not just for the individual. As well as the health risks, a lack of access to sanitation facilities is a major cause of risk, anxiety, economic and psychosocial stress.

Coordination across the sanitation and hygiene sector is complex, with local and national governments, large development agencies, small NGOs all working towards a common goal in greatly varying contexts. Innovations and solutions are being trialled and are succeeding, but with limited opportunities to share learning and accelerate global progress.

Since 2006, the Sanitation Learning Hub (previously known as the CLTS Knowledge Hub) has been supporting learning within the sanitation and hygiene sector.

Visit the Sanitation Learning Hub website

SLH drives conversations the most urgent topics facing policymakers, development agencies and practitioners in the sanitation and hygiene sector, and across sectors and disciplines.

In recent years we have advanced thinking and practice on:

• Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
• Climate change
• Delivering programmes in challenging contexts
• The role of local government
• Innovating new research methods 

With funding from Sida from 2019-2024, recently the focus of the Hub’s work has been to support and strengthen the sector to tackle the complex challenges it faces in delivering Global Goal 6.2 – ‘By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.’

From 2024 onwards, the Sanitation Learning Hub is moving to a portfolio funding model and is open to new collaborations and funders. You can find out about some of our projects at the bottom of this page.