General Emergency

Of the two billion people worldwide lacking access to at least basic sanitation, seven out of ten live in rural areas (JMP 2019). Progress has been made on increasing rural sanitation and access levels are rising, but challenges remain in reaching the ‘last mile’ or some 10 to 20 per cent of the population (Apanga et al. 2020; UNICEF 2015).

Where large groups of people are displaced either by conflict or by natural disaster and they are likely to stay in a location for periods in excess of a few weeks, there will be a need to establish and probably subsequently upgrade a centralised water treatment system. This guideline focuses on community level needs where “bulk water treatment” is required. It is devised by the Oxfam Public Health Engineering Team to help provide a reliable water supply where mass displacement of people has occurred, e.g. as found in refugee camps and relief centres.

In a crisis, humanitarians are often responsible for providing or repairing handwashing infrastructure for the affected population. This creates an opportunity for us to build infrastructure and provide products which encourage people to practice handwashing with soap.

Handwashing is a critical practice that is promoted to protect public health, especially during outbreaks of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Handwashing stations are used both in emergencies and in other contexts to provide locations for people to wash hands with soap. In refugee camps and internal displacement centres, units for handwashing should be installed both at households and next to latrines and in communal areas, such as in markets, schools, and health centres. This document lists a range of options for handwashing stations.

Despite the increasing use of market-based modalities in the humanitarian WASH sector, considerable barriers still exist to using them at scale. With the aim of addressing these barriers, the GWC Markets TWiG commissioned this systematic review of practices and evidence of MBP in the WASH sector.

Menstrual Disposal, Waste Management & Laundering in Emergencies: A Compendium aims to provide strategic guidance to support organizations and agencies seeking to rapidly address these critical and often overlooked aspects of an MHM response. The compendium complements
the MHM in Emergencies Toolkit, which identified a few key gaps in practice, namely: menstrual disposal, waste management and the laundering of reusable materials. 

Decision Making and the Use of Guidance on Sanitation Systems and Faecal Sludge Management in the First Phase of Rapid-Onset Emergencies

Why publish a second edition of the WASH Innovation Catalogue?

Most of the WASH innovations in the first edition of our catalogue have continued to progress significantly on the path to scale, and we frequently add exciting new innovations to our portfolio.

We are pleased to publish this second edition of our WASH Innovation Catalogue, which contains a range of new evidence and innovations and ensures that information and contact details on the projects are up to date so you can get in touch for more information.

This technical brief provides information to inform water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and wastewater elements within multi-sectoral antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plans (NAPs). It includes a summary of evidence and the co-benefits rationale for action in each sector and presents a menu of actions for consideration and refinement in each country context.