COVID-19 Challenges and WASH in Informal Settlements: Integrated Action Supported by the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The spread and impacts of COVID-19 have exposed multiple and cascading vulnerabilities, which particularly affect urban informal settlements. In light of such threats, it is vital to understand how interventions in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector are required and how these can positively affect cities in multiple ways. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) global agenda calls for integrated approaches to development in order to revisit the way societies are built and to more effectively include marginalised populations. Parikh et al. have identified positive linkages between sanitation and 130 of the SDG Targets of the 17 Goals (Parikh et al., 2020a). Their work demonstrates how investments in WASH (SDG6) “to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” can lead to further achievement of multiple goals, including health (SDG3), gender (SDG5), education (SDG4) and cities (SDG11), and the value of such integrated interventions to tackle challenges facing humanity.