Water Access

Dispensers are a source-based water quality intervention with promising uptake results in development contexts.

This document highlights the key messages, lesson, and experiences of both course facilitators and participants from RedR's pilot course on the topic of WASH in urban emergency response.

The supply of adequate amounts of safe water for drinking and hygiene during natural disasters or armed conflict can be compromised and is one of the priorities in public health interventions to prevent the spread of disease.

An immediate need and vital resource, potable water becomes critical in the aftermath of a disaster; affected communities cannot recover and return to normal conditions until water infrastructure is restored.

Following the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, the emergency response that ensued prioritized the health and wellness of survivors by providing safe drinking water to the affected populations.

The provision of safe water in adequate quantities is a basic necessity in emergencies to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, and more specifically, the spread of waterborne diseases.

After the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Oxfam carried out various activities to improve WASH facilities for communities and additional activities that targeted the cholera outbreak.

Emergency water trucking (EWT) is typically a short-term, life-saving intervention that is used to cover interruptions in water service or access to sufficient quantities of water to meet survival requirements.

Changes in water quality of a sand aquifer on the east coast of Sri Lanka due to the 26 December 2004 tsunami and subsequent remediation attempt by pumping were investigated.

Most households in the districts of Sri Lanka affected by the tsunami possessed drinking water wells, and these wells were contaminated by debris, sludge and saltwater.