The COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to contribute to widespread food insecurity and malnutrition and have long-term
health, social, and economic repercussions. Central to the pandemic response is ensuring adequate water and sanitation
This operational guideline authored by UNICEF WASH Gregory Bulit and Monica Ramos, supports the establishment of case area targeted interventions (CATI) with dedicated community outbreak response teams (CORT) in a country affected by cholera. Annexes include tools to set-up, implement, monitor and evaluate the team responses. Inquiries: Greg Bulit and Laure Anquez.
Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic poses a grave threat to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). We examined knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to COVID-19 prevention among IDPs in war-torn Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Methods: Mixed-methods study with qualitative (focus group discussions, [FGDs]) and quantitative (52-item survey questionnaire) data collection and synthesis.
Background: Cholera remains a leading cause of infectious disease outbreaks globally, and a major public health threat in complex emergencies. Hygiene kits distributed to cholera case-households have previously shown an effect in reducing cholera incidence and are recommended by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for distribution to admitted patients and accompanying household members upon admission to health care facilities (HCFs).
This document provides guidance on how to use cash for latrines in camp settings. It highlights key lessons from different contexts and captures both cash specific recommendations and general guidance on latrine construction in one document. While much of the guidance emphasizes cash restricted to latrine construction, it also technically supports WASH officers on how to best accompany multi-purpose grants should they cover households latrines.
Background. Rapid control of cholera outbreaks is a significant challenge in overpopulated urban settings, and documented results on field interventions are scarce. During the 2017-2018 period, Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo, experienced a sharp increase in cholera cases that showed potential to quickly spread throughout the city. A novel targeted WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) strategy was implemented to quickly stem the cholera outbreak.
Background: Diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI) account for 30% of deaths among children displaced due to humanitarian emergencies. A wealth of evidence demonstrates that handwashing with soap prevents both diarrhea and ARI.
Engaging communities in humanitarian programming is key to ensuring their participation in decision-making that affects them as outlined by commitment 4 of the Core Humanitarian Standards.
Promoting economic recovery, resilience, acceptance and sustainability, Market Based Programming (MBP) is increasingly used by humanitarian agencies. Among a range of programme modalities that are based on understanding an supporting local market systems, there is a high level support for expanding use of cash transfers.
Dispensers are a source-based water quality intervention with promising uptake results in development contexts. Dispenser programs include a tank of chlorine with a dosing valve that is installed next to a water source, a local Promoter who conducts community education and refills the Dispenser, and chlorine refills. In collaboration with response organizations, we assessed the effectiveness of Dispensers in four emergency situations.