Tracking urban sanitation services: improving faecal sludge management services through monitoring in Lusaka, Zambia

In Zambia’s capital Lusaka, safe faecal sludge management (FSM) services are essential for improving resident’s health and living conditions. In this paper, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) and Lusaka Water and Sewage Company (LWSC) share preliminary learning from the implementation of a monitoring system for improved pit emptying services in Kanyama, one of Lusaka’s low-income communities (LICs). The paper outlines the monitoring process, including challenges encountered during its implementation and solutions developed in response. Monitoring indicators such as service response time, volume of sludge emptied, and customer feedback are essential to improve the quality and economic viability of the service, as well as support its replication in other low-income areas. Overall, learning from the monitoring process could help support the establishment of similar FSM services in other cities.