# List of abbreviations used in sanitation

This is a list of abbreviations and acronyms commonly used in the sanitation sector or more broadly in the WASH sector.

## Contents

* A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

## A

* AA - Activated alumina
* ADB - Asian Development Bank
* ABR - Anaerobic baffled reactor - improved septic tank with baffles, see also Anaerobic digestion and DEWATS
* ACP - Anaerobic contact process
* AD - Anaerobic digestion
* AF - Anaerobic filters, see also Anaerobic digestion
* AfDB - African Development Bank
* AfWA - African Water Association
* AIT - Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand
* aka or a.k.a. - "also known as"
* AMCOW - African Ministers Council on Water
* As - Arsenic
* ATS - Aerobic treatment system
* AusAID - Australian Agency for International Development
* AWF - African Water Facility, an initiative of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), hosted and administered by African Development Bank (AfDB)

## B

* BCC - Behavioral change communication
* BMGF - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
* BMZ - Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
* BOD or BOD5 - Biological oxygen demand (measured for five days)
* BOP or BoP - Bottom of the pyramid (or base of the pyramid)
* BOT - Build-operate-transfer
* BSF - Black soldier fly or Biosand filter
* BSFL - Black soldier fly larvae

## C

* cap - capita, as per capita (or per person)
* CAPEX - Capital expenditure
* CATS - Community approaches to total sanitation, a term coined by UNICEF
* CBO - Community-based organization
* CBOD - Carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand
* CBS - Container-based sanitation
* CCT - Conditional cash transfer
* CHC - Community Health Clubs
* CHP - Combined heat and power
* CLTS - Community-led total sanitation
* CLUES - Community Led Urban Environmental Sanitation
* CFU - Colony-forming unit
* COD - Controlled open defecation
* COD - Chemical oxygen demand
* CoP - Community of practice
* CP - Contact precipitation, see precipitation
* CSO - Combined sewer overflow or Civil Society Organization (same as Non-governmental organization)
* CSR - Corporate social responsibility
* CW - Constructed wetland

## D

* DALY - Disability-adjusted life year
* DEWATS - Decentralized wastewater treatment system
* DFID - Department for International Development (United Kingdom)
* DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid
* DO - Dissolved oxygen
* DRC - Democratic Republic of the Congo
* DRR - Disaster risk reduction

## E

* Ecosan - Ecological sanitation
* EC - Electrical conductivity
* Eh - Redox potential
* EIA - Environmental impact assessment
* EM - Effective microorganisms
* EN - European standards (the N stands for Normalisation in French), e.g. EN 12566
* EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency
* EPS - Extracellular polymeric substances
* EQND - Equality and nondiscrimination
* ESARO - East and Southern Africa Region
* EU - European Union

## F

* FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
* FAQ - Frequently asked questions
* FC - Fecal coliforms
* FECR - Fecal egg count reduction; closest article is on anthelmintic
* FFS (or F4S) - Fit for School
* FGD - Focus group discussion; closest article may be Qualitative psychological research
* FGM - Female genital mutilation
* FOAM - Focus on Opportunity, Ability and Motivation
* FS - Fecal (or faecal) sludge; closest article is septage
* FSM - Fecal (or faecal) sludge management
* FSSM - Fecal sludge and septage management
* FSTP - Fecal sludge treatment plant
* FTI - Faecally-transmitted infections; closest article is fecal–oral transmission

## G

* GAP - Good agricultural practices
* GHG - Greenhouse gases
* GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
* GLAAS - UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water
* GPS - Global positioning system
* GSF - Global sanitation fund, closest page is Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

## H

* HACCP - Hazard analysis and critical control points
* hab. - inhabitant or user, used in design parameters of wastewater treatment, e.g. 60 g BOD/hab.
* HAI - Hospital-acquired infection
* HCF - Health care facility
* HEDF - Human excreta derived fertiliser (see reuse of excreta)
* HEW - Health Extension Worker
* HH - Household
* HIA - Health impact assessment
* HQ - Headquarters
* HRWS - Human right to water and sanitation
* HWF - Handwashing facility

## I

* ICT - Information and communications technology
* IDP - Internally displaced person, often used as "IDP camp"
* IEC - Information, education, communication; closest article may be Behavior change (public health)
* INR - Indian rupee, currency in India
* IWRM - Integrated water resources management

## J

* JMP - Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation of WHO and UNICEF

## K

* KAP - Knowledge, attitude and practice
* kL (or Kl) - Kilo liters (or 1000 liters, same as 1 cubic meter)
* KM - Knowledge management
* Ksh - Kenyan shilling, currency in Kenya
* KVIP - Kumasi ventilated-improved pit, closest article is Pit latrine

## L

* L - Lakh, used for one hundred thousand in India
* L - Liter (or litre in British English spelling)
* LCC - Life-cycle cost, see Whole-life cost or Life-cycle cost analysis
* LCCA - Life-cycle cost analysis
* LGA - Local government area
* LMICs - Low and middle income countries
* LNOB - Leave no one behind
* lpcd - Liters per capita per day (liters per person per day), e.g. for daily wastewater flowrate

## M

* MBBR - Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor
* MBR - Membrane bioreactor
* MCA - Multiple criteria analysis, see Multiple-criteria decision analysis
* MCDA - Multiple-criteria decision analysis
* MDA - Mass drug administration
* MDG - Millennium Development Goal
* M&E - Monitoring and evaluation
* MENA - Middle East and North Africa
* MFC - Microbial fuel cell
* MFI - Microfinance institution
* mg - Milligram
* μg - Microgram
* MHM - Menstrual hygiene management
* ML - Megaliter or 1 million liter or 1000 cubic meters
* MLD - Million liters per day
* MOH - Ministry of health (see also List of health departments and ministries)
* MOOC - Massive open online course
* MOS - Manual of style
* MoU - Memorandum of understanding
* MoUD - Ministry of Urban Development
* MSW - Municipal solid waste

## N

* NBA - Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in India, formerly called "Total Sanitation Campaign" (TSC) - not to be confused with CLTS
* NGO - Non-governmental organization
* NIMBY - Not In My Back Yard
* NRW - Non-revenue water
* NSS - Non-sewered sanitation (similar term to fecal sludge management)
* NTDs - Neglected tropical diseases

## O

* OBA - Output based aid
* OD - Open defecation
* ODA - Official development assistance
* ODK - Open Data Kit
* O&M - Operation and maintenance
* ODF - Open defecation free, i.e. a community without open defecation taking place
* OP - Omni Processor
* OPEX - Operational expenditure (or operating expense)
* ORP - Oxidation reduction potential
* ORT - Oral rehydration therapy

## P

* PbR - Payment by results
* PC - Preventive chemotherapy; closest article is helminthiasis
* PFU - Plaque-forming unit
* PHC - Primary health centre
* PIM - Post implementation monitoring; no article yet, see WASH
* PMU - Project management unit
* PSP - Public sector participation, see also Public–private partnership
* PVC - Polyvinyl chloride
* PPP - Public private partnership
* ppm - Parts per million
* ppb - Parts per billion

## Q

* QA/QC - Quality assurance / quality control
* Q&A - Question and answer, see also FAQ
* QMRA - Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment

## R

* RBF - Results-based financing, see also Output based aid or Payment by Results
* RCT - Randomized controlled trial
* R&D - Research and development
* RNA - Ribonucleic acid
* RRR - Resource Recovery and Reuse
* RTI - Reproductive tract infection
* RTTC - Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, an R&D funding scheme by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
* RVO - Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland [nl] (Netherlands Enterprise Agency)

## S

* SAR - Sodium adsorption ratio
* SBA (or SBM) - Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Clean India Mission or Swachh Bharat Mission
* SBR - Sequencing batch reactor
* SDG - Sustainable Development Goal
* SDG6 - Sustainable Development Goal Number 6: "Clean Water and Sanitation"
* SFD - Shit Flow Diagram
* SHG - Self-help group
* SLA - Service-level agreement
* SLB - Service-level benchmarking
* SLTS - School-led total sanitation, see Community-led total sanitation
* SME - Small and medium-sized enterprise
* SMS - Short message service
* SOP - Standard operating procedure
* STP - Sewage treatment plant
* SRHR - Sexual and reproductive health and rights
* SRT - Solids retention time, see also Activated sludge
* SS - Suspended solids
* SSA - Sub-Saharan Africa
* SSLA - Sanitation Service-level agreement
* SSP - Sanitation safety planning; closest page might be Water safety plan
* SuSanA - Sustainable Sanitation Alliance
* SWASH - School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, see Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

## T

* T90 - Time at which 90 percent reduction in pathogens is achieved
* TAF - Technology Applicability Framework
* ThOD - Theoretical oxygen demand
* ToR - Terms of reference
* TSC - Total sanitation campaign in India, now called Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan - not to be confused with CLTS
* TSS - Total suspended solids (in sanitary engineering) or Toxic shock syndrome (medical field)
* TSSM - Total Sanitation and Sanitation Marketing
* TSU - Technical support unit

## U

* UASB - Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor
* UCD - User-centered design
* UDDT - Urine-diverting dry toilet
* UDT - Urine diversion toilet
* UDFT - Urine Diverting Flush Toilet
* μg - Microgram
* ULB - Urban local body
* UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
* UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme
* UNSGAB - United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation
* USEPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency
* UTI - Urinary tract infection

## V

* VIP - Ventilated improved pit latrine
* VND - Vietnamese Dong (currency in Vietnam)

## W

* WASH or WaSH - Water, sanitation and hygiene
* WASH2 - Water, sanitation, hygiene and health
* WatSan - Water and sanitation, used in the same way as WASH
* WC - Water closet
* WEF - Water-Energy-Food nexus
* WG - Working group
* WinS - WASH in schools
* WHO - World Health Organization
* WPM - Water point mapping
* WSP:
** Water and sanitation program of the World Bank
** Water safety plan
** Waste stabilization pond
* WSUP - Water and sanitation for the urban poor
* WSH - Water, sanitation, hygiene
* WSSCC - Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
* WTD - World Toilet Day
* WTP:
** Water treatment plant
** Willingness to pay
* WWD - World Water Day
* WWTP - Wastewater treatment plant
* WYSIWYG - What You See is What You Get