The specific strategic objectives of the NETSSAF Co-ordination Action were:

To prepare the technical, social and policy bases for the future large-scale implementation of low cost technologies for sustainable sanitation in West Africa.

To encourage the establishment of permanent communication links between research centres, rural developing associations, regional networks, authorities and other stakeholders in Africa, focusing in the western region, promoting the know-how exchange and expertise in relation to innovative sanitation approaches for large-scale implementation.

To co-ordinate current research and development activities in Africa, focusing in the western region, in order to promote cooperation and avoid overlapping and duplication of efforts, taking into account traditional knowledge and innovation technologies.

To define, initiate and guide future R&D activities on West African level by mapping current research and forming research clusters in order to fulfill the scientific and technological needs for the further large-scale implementation of innovative and feasible sanitation concepts.

To identify a variety of innovative, adaptable and replicable approaches to sustainable sanitation in Africa, aiming at integrating appropriate low cost technologies in the context of community based management.

To disseminate the results, through a Sustainable Sanitation Extension Programme, designed specially to reach the local communities and to build capacity of authorities for future implementation and dissemination, developing institutional mechanisms for deployment of extension strategy.