Concerted global efforts to optimise water and sanitation's impact on public health are reflected in Millennium Development Goal 7C. In March 2012, WHO announced that the MDG 7c target of 88% of the global population using improved source of water supply had been met. Currently, however, about 800 million people still lack access to potable water and 1.9 billion people lack access to basic toilet facilities.

The impact of water on public health relates to quality and quantity. While microbiological contamination is the largest public health threat, chemical contamination is a major health concern in many communities. Sanitation is closely linked to urban planning, and hence it is no surprise that the vast majority of the 1 billion people living in slum areas lack access to “improved sanitation”. Nevertheless, useful innovations in water and sanitation have been successfully implemented.

We invite researchers, policy makers, advocates and donors to submit scholarly papers that will contribute to enhanced understanding of the impact of water and sanitation on public health. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Current approaches towards accelerating progress for achieving MDG 7C's sanitation goal
• Neglected Tropical Diseases transmitted through contaminated water or poor sanitation
• Adequacy of quality and quantity of water globally and in specific communities, and public health implications
• Artificial water fluoridation and chlorination–environmental and health effects
• Floods and infectious diseases such as leptospirosis
• Innovative approaches to faecal decontamination
• Best practice participatory hygiene and sanitation programs
• “Waste to Wealth” innovations for converting garbage and faeces into energy and manure
• Efficient approaches for urban planning, and for improving water and sanitation services among vulnerable populations such as slums and refugee camps

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/jeph/wsph/ according to the following timetable: