Water and sanitation – Don’t forget the plumbing!

In this paper, Robert Burgon describes the work of the World Plumbing Council (WPC) in the context of the contribution which the plumbing industry makes to global health. He focuses on ‘‘Health Aspects of Plumbing’’, a joint publication by WPC and theWorld Health Organisation (WHO) and outlines a current project between WPC and WHO to demonstrate the need to build capacity in plumbing in developing nations. The paper concludes with a reference to the role which plumbers can play as emergency responders in disaster scenarios.