Regulators have a vital role on the path to delivering inclusive sanitation, citywide. As pragmatists and experts of balancing a range of complex needs, their unique position is crucial in meeting the financial and capacity needs of service providers whilst ensuring that standards set by policy-makers are met for Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS).

To celebrate and reflect on the first year of IWA’s Regulating for CWIS initiative, IWA is delighted to host a high-level online panel with panellists who sit on the Advisory Board and Task Force of the initiative. The panellists are high-level representatives from various regulatory agencies and global organisations from across the globe including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ADERASA, WHO, LIS-Water and NWASCO. A welcome keynote will also be given by IWA’s Executive Director Prof. Kala Vairavamoorthy.

The online panel aims to speak about a diverse range of contexts and challenges around the key areas of priority of the initiative, focusing in particular on the vital role regulators can play in achieving CWIS and the needs, opportunities and tools for action required to support and inspire regulators.

Specifically, in the first half of the panel session, the discussion will focus on the idea of developing a regulator’s CWIS roadmap, including what this should look like and what should be included (e.g. the role of various stakeholders, gaps, overlaps and weaknesses to create the necessary regulatory enabling environment). The second half of the session will host a discussion around the role of regulators in influencing government policy with regards to CWIS.