# Water & sanitation — gaps & caveats (SEA-11)

**As of:** 2026-09-06  
**Pack:** `topics/water_sanitation/scoreboard.csv`

## Hard gaps (empty cells — do not invent)

| Gap | Countries | Why |
|-----|-----------|-----|
| Safely managed drinking water | **BRN, THA, TLS** | WDI `SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS` has **zero** non-null years 2000–2025 for these ISO3s |
| Safely managed sanitation | **BRN, IDN, TLS** | WDI `SH.STA.SMSS.ZS` has **zero** non-null years 2000–2025 for these ISO3s |
| Basic handwashing | **BRN, MYS, SGP** | WDI `SH.STA.HYGN.ZS` not reported (typical for some high-income / non-surveyed cells) |

**9 empty cells** in this freeze. Never zero-fill; never substitute “basic” into a “safely managed” column.

## Stale / vintage badges

| Indicator | Country | Year | Note |
|-----------|---------|------|------|
| Open defecation | **MYS** | **†2016** | Latest WDI non-null — do not present as 2024 |
| Basic handwashing | **TLS** | **†2020** | Older than 2024 peers |
| Basic drinking water / basic sanitation | All | **2024** | Current JMP via WDI freeze |
| Safely managed (where seeded) | Seeded countries | **2024** | Current JMP via WDI freeze |
| Open defecation (except MYS) | 10 countries | **2024** | Includes true zeros for BRN / SGP / THA / VNM |

**Mandatory dashboard badge:** **mixed vintages** + **JMP gaps**.

## Source consistency choices

1. **Primary source** — World Bank WDI republication of **WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP)** for SDG 6.1 / 6.2.
2. **Latest non-null** per country — no interpolation; no carry-forward beyond the published year.
3. **Open defecation 0** is a real JMP value where reported (BRN, SGP, THA, VNM) — not a gap.
4. **Thailand safely managed sanitation ~26.7% (2024)** is the published JMP/WDI cell despite near-universal basic sanitation — typically reflects the safely-managed treatment/disposal criteria. Do not “correct” it with basic %.
5. Handwashing is optional where JMP surveys exist; high-income BRN/SGP gaps are expected.

## Caveats for readers / writers

- **Singapore** is the regional ceiling (100% basic + safely managed water & sanitation; 0% open defecation).
- **Philippines** is strong on **basic drinking water (95.9%)** and **handwashing (97.3%)**, but **safely managed drinking water (48.5%)** is a clear peer weakness vs Malaysia (**94.7%**) and behind Vietnam (**58.6%**).
- **PH basic sanitation (87.2%)** is the **lowest of the MY/TH/VN/ID peer five** (just under Indonesia **88.2%**).
- **PH safely managed sanitation (62.2%)** sits **above** Vietnam (**45.4%**) and Thailand (**26.7%**), below Malaysia (**85.8%**); Indonesia is a GAP on this series.
- **Open defecation** remains non-zero for PH (**2.2%**) and Indonesia (**2.3%**) in 2024 — peer soft spot vs Thailand/Vietnam zeros.
- Laos still has the highest open defecation among ASEAN members with 2024 data (**8.7%**); TLS **7.9%**, Myanmar **6.7%**, Cambodia **5.2%**.
- Empty ≠ zero. Lower open defecation = better.

## Optional indicators deferred

- Piped water on premises / limited services rungs (JMP ladder detail)
- Rural vs urban splits (JMP household surveys)
- Wastewater treatment SDG 6.3 (different series)
- Direct washdata.org country files (WDI JMP republication is the locked cite for this freeze)

## Reading rule

Badge †2016 Malaysia open defecation and †2020 Timor-Leste handwashing. Never invent safely managed cells for BRN/THA/TLS (water) or BRN/IDN/TLS (sanitation). Prefer “WHO/UNICEF JMP via WDI” in footnotes.