October 2025 Sanitation Workers Research Awards 2025- Meet the awardees

Sanitation workers deliver a vital public service, yet too often they do so at great personal cost — facing hazardous conditions, inadequate living standards, and uncertainty in their employment. Although their contributions are central to ensuring safe and sustainable sanitation, their basic rights to health, safety, and dignity are frequently overlooked. There remains a significant gap in understanding the realities they face, the challenges they endure, and the systems needed to protect and uphold their rights. Research is crucial in closing this gap — helping to illuminate their experiences, inform reflection, and guide the development of policies and initiatives that can improve their working conditions and safeguard their dignity.

In recognition of the importance of this work, the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina and the Initiative for Sanitation Workers — a global coalition advocating for sanitation workers — jointly sponsor the Sanitation Workers Research Awards. These distinguished awards honour research that demonstrates excellence, relevance, and real-world impact, and are presented annually at the UNC Water and Health Conference.