Water and Sanitation
Water and Sanitation
Growing attention on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and its links to infection prevention and control (IPC) is coming to the forefront of positive change in maternal and newborn health services in low- and middle-income countries. Joanna MacQueen, Junior Communications Officer at The Soapbox Collaborative, examines the importance of simple solutions. It should be no… Read more
This rapid review has found that there are many gaps in the evidence on humanitarian responses to acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in Ethiopia, specifically in terms of necessary cross district and/or cross border co-ordination, as well as the human and financial resources needed for such aid (Fisseha, 2016; Oxfam GB, 2017; UNICEF, 2017a; OCHA Somalia,… Read more
Solid waste and faecal sludge management in situations of rapid mass displacement are important to public health and providing for a better environment. Despite this, both have been neglected in WASH programmes, which tend to have a focus on water. However increasing efforts are being made to find solutions to challenges in solid waste and… Read more
This rapid review report has identified the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) options used in emergency settings, with decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) and mobile wastewater treatment units performing most effectively and with minimal costs. Examples are taken from refugee camps and internally displaced people (IDP) settlements due to the Iraq war, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and… Read more
Diarrhoeal diseases are very common causes of death in low and middle-income countries. The aim for this systematic review was to show which promotional approaches might change handwashing and sanitation behaviour, and which implementation factors affect the success or failure of such promotional approaches. For community-based approaches, involvement of the community, enthusiasm of community leaders,… Read more
If WASH services are to deliver continuous benefits to users, they must be supported by strong, responsive, permanent in-country institutions. Strengthening permanent institutions is very challenging in difficult operating environments and requires approaches that work beyond the delivery of taps and toilets alone. This document is aimed at WASH practitioners and policy-makers developing management and support processes that ensure service… Read more
The Cost of Water Project supports the effective planning and sustainable management of water supply systems in refugee camps and settlements. Launched in 2014 by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Unit in DPSM’s Public Health Section in partnership with IRC, the project measures the overall costs of providing effective water systems in a variety… Read more
In early 2017, WSUP commissioned a situation analysis of urban sanitation services in Bangladesh, Ghana and Kenya, in order to identify potential research areas as part of the DFID-funded Urban Sanitation Research Initiative. Here, Goufrane Mansour (Aguaconsult, lead expert for the study) and Sam Drabble (WSUP, Research and Evaluation Manager) reflect on common findings across the three… Read more
This policy brief summarizes the key findings from a multi-country sustainability assessment of rural water service delivery models conducted in 2016–17. This assessment used a case-study approach to identify good practices and challenges towards building sector capacity and strengthening sustainable service delivery models for rural areas. It does not focus on the critical planning, design, and… Read more
Country-led political and financial commitments to nutrition goals are widely recognized as critical to reducing malnutrition at scale. This report seeks to examine the relationship between country-level nutrition policy, implementation leadership, donor support and coordination, and nutrition outcomes at a national or subnational level. The analysis focuses on reducing the prevalence of stunting in countries… Read more
With 2.1 billion people – mostly in rural areas – lacking safely managed drinking water and reported low rural water supply functionality rates, the Sustainable Development Goals pose a triple challenge: to reach unserved mostly rural population groups, to raise service levels, and to sustain existing and future services. This assessment uses a multi-country case… Read more