This is a report on the first international symposium on Facecal sludge management (FSM) policy. It was held in Dakar, Senegal from 9 to 12 May 2006. This Symposium assembled some sixty participants from 20 Sub-Saharan and European countries, including policy-makers, funding agencies and enterprises and non-governmental organisations active in the sanitation field. It was conducted under the patronage of the Senegal National Sanitation Agency (ONAS), the International Water Association (IWA) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag-Sandec), and co-financed by UN-Habitat, the World Bank (Bank of Netherlands Water Partnership Program (BNWP), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).