Environmental Hygiene

The UNICEF Cholera Toolkit provides UNICEF staff and partners with practical resources to implement  an integrated approach to cholera prevention, preparedness and response.  It addresses water, hygiene and sanitation, health and communication for development (

This toolkit has been developed in response to an acknowledgement that although the lack of access to appropriate water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH) is not the root cause of violence, it can lead to increased vulnerabilities to violence of varying fo

Appropriate and adequate sanitation solutions are crucial for the protection of human and environmental health in emergencies.

It is generally accepted that excreta disposal is given less priority in emergencies than other humanitarian interventions such as healthcare, food and water supply.

In the Humanitarian Innovation Fund Gap Analysis for water, sanitation, and hygiene issues, field staff identified environmental management of surface water as an area of concern, although this was not reflected at a head office level.

The operation of a health care facility, such as a cholera or Ebola treatment center in an emergency setting, results in the production of pathogen-laden wastewaters that may potentially lead to onward transmission of the disease.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are key to reducing the burden of disease associated with outbreaks, and are commonly implemented in emergency response. However, there is a lack of summarized evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions.

Over the last few years, we have heavily invested in funding and supporting innovation and research in the WASH sector, highlighting gaps in evidence, exploring the problems, identifying opportunities where innovation can play a vital role, and funding the righ

When responding to an emergency situation, ensuring safe excreta disposal is an urgent priority in the disaster relief effort. Depending on the environment, not all methods of sanitation are appropriate, so methods such as ecological sanitation (Ecosan) must be employed.

This publication highlights Global Communities' response to the Ebola outbreak and describes the process of adaptation, collaboration and partnership which helped the response to be successful, detailing challenges the led to further adaptation.