Laddering up? A research framework in sanitation for people with disabilities in low-income settings

With a motivation to make progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of sanitation for all by 2030, this paper proposes a framework to guide future research and evaluation of sanitation-for-All initiatives. The proposed framework builds upon the social model of disability, emphasizes a human rights perspective regarding sanitation access and use, leverages existing research and case examples, and is based on the need to extend the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) sanitation ladder to include 'equitable sanitation'. The framework includes three mediating factors that influence sanitation access (personal/individual, social, and environmental factors) and one moderating factor (institutional structures), and provides a planning structure for achieving equitable sanitation. The sanitation-for-All framework contributes to previous efforts to broaden and deepen the impacts of the JMP, particularly from a human rights perspective, and holds potential regarding other marginalized populations, such as adolescent girls and older adults.