===Background===
==== Development of the sanitation ladder====
The sanitation ladder was originally a tool that developed from participatory approaches such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST). The ladder aimed at providing community members with a visual guide to different sanitation options, providing information on a range of factors (e.g. cost, convenience, upgradeability etc.) in order to facilitate household and communal sanitation planning and decision making. These ladders are still in use in some areas. The ladders which developed in this way are centred on particular latrine/ toilet technologies, appropriate to the given context, with advancement up the ladder generally accompanied by a more complex technology, theoretically providing improved service. While serving as a basis for communal decision-making, these ladders tend to have an aspirational character - that households or communities, once on the ladder, would seek to move up the ladder, according to their means.<br/>
Generally, a set of agreed criteria are used to identify suitable sanitation options. One of the better-known examples of these types of ladder is the Lao PDR Sanitation Ladder, with its 6 steps. These steps are 1) :# improved traditional practice 2) # conventional pit latrine 3) # lid or cover latrine 4) # ventilated Improved Pit Latrine 5) # pour flush latrine 6) # septic tank toilet.
==== Role of the sanitation ladder in WASH monitoring ====
'''Health functions:'''
**:1) . Excreta containment**:2) . Safe access and availability**:3) . greywater management**:4) . pathogen reduction in treatment
'''Environmental functions:'''<br>**:5) .nutrient reuse<br>**:6) . eutrophication risk reduction<br>**:7) . integrated resource management<br>
==== Applicability of the functional sanitation ladder ====
*Target 6.1 by 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
*Target 6.2 by 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
==== Pros and cons of the functional sanitation ladder====
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*Various organisations have moved forward with the ladder concept, but operationalisation remains problematic
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=== Adaptations of the functional sanitation ladder===
*How to approach the different assessment levels, i.e. in areas with varying levels of sanitation service, system boundaries may be set at different levels, for example, the individual project level or city level.
*Further incorporate equity, equality and human rights into the functional sanitation ladder
=== Acknowledgements===
