Camp setting

Practical Guidance for Refugee Settings - UNHCR WASH Programme Guidance

Handwashing with soap is widely recognized as a key strategy for reducing the transmission of disease, particularly in emergency contexts, where overcrowding and poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions are common. Combining hygiene promotion with soap provision is accepted as one of the most cost-effective methods for disease prevention; however, this approach has not necessarily translated into a sustained increase in handwashing in emergency contexts.

The current Sphere guideline for water chlorination in humanitarian emergencies fails to reliably ensure household water safety in refugee camps. We investigated post-distribution chlorine decay and household water safety in refugee camps in South Sudan, Jordan, and Rwanda between 2013-2015 with the goal of demonstrating an approach for generating site-specific and evidence-based chlorination targets that bet- ter ensure household water safety than the status quo Sphere guideline.

Background. Children in humanitarian situations are particularly vulnerable to diseases such as diar- rhoea. Handwashing with soap can greatly reduce transmission but handwashing rates are often low and traditional interventions ineffective. To aid future intervention design, this study aims to understand the determinants of child handwashing and the key motivational drivers of children’s behaviour within a specific humanitarian setting.

MSF has intervened recently in several contexts where large-scale surface water treatment has been a significant feature of the WatSan response – Gambella (Ethiopia), Central African Republic (CAR) and Bentiu (South Sudan) are some examples. The impact of these interventions has been significant. Surface water treatment, if feasible, has better potential for covering the needs of a population in the immediate phase of a response than groundwater. It is simpler, cheaper and, usually, does not involve contracting services beyond basic construction activities. 

To date, over 900 TWT's (Tiger Worm Toilets) have been built and trialled across four countries by Oxfam in a range of settings including urban, peri-urban and camps. Trials have also been run by other organisations as well as installations by the private sector. They have been proven to work in both household and shared communal camp settings. However, the learnings show that TWTs are not the solution to all sanitation problems. This manual aims to present considerations for TWTs and provide a guidance for implementation based on globally relevant learnings from Myanmar.

Background: There is growing attention to addressing the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) needs of the over 21 million displaced adolescent girls and women globally. Current approaches to MHM-related humanitarian programming often prioritize the provision of menstrual materials and information. However, a critical component of an MHM response includes the construction and maintenance of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, including more female-friendly toilets.

About a million Rohingyas have fled due to the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar and sought refuge in Bangladesh. The refugees are located in temporary settlements on hilly areas of Cox’s Bazar with inadequate water and sanitation facilities, giving rise to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea. This exploratory study reports drinking water security challenges in two Rohingya refugee camps within the larger camp network—Camp 2 and the recently-built Camp 4 Extension (Camp 4Ext)—to discover the key everyday issues refugees are facing related to drinking water.

UNHCR estimates that the average time spent by a refugee in a camp is 10 years, while the average refugee camp remains for 26 years. WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) is a crucial component of humanitarian response and longer-term recovery. Humanitarian agencies and host governments face many challenges in protracted situations and complex long-term humanitarian crises. One key issue is how water supplies should be managed in the long term. Who is best placed to operate and manage WASH services and which delivery model is the most viable?