An Emergency WASH Network Update - December 11, 2020

[Dan Campbell]

Dear Colleagues

This update contains links to recently published articles and reports and upcoming events and courses. The next update will focus on WASH & neglected tropical diseases in humanitarian situations so let us know of recent research, studies, resources, etc. 

EVENTS

ELRHA – Innovation Challenge: Facilitating the Adoption of Humanitarian WASH Innovations - The ambition of this first-of-its-kind Adoption Challenge is to enable humanitarian organizations to adopt promising new solutions, adapt them to new settings and evaluate their effectiveness. Application deadline, January 25, 2021.

Creating Hope in Conflict: a Humanitarian Grand Challenge 2020 Request for Proposals in Numbers, December 2, 2020 - This year, the majority of the solutions (32%) put forward were in the area of Health Supplies and Services; followed by Life-Saving Information (26%); Safe Water and Sanitation (22%); and Energy (20%). Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge is a partnership of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development office (FCDO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, with support from Grand Challenges Canada.

COURSES/TRAINING

IHE Delft - Online Course on Governance in Humanitarian Contexts, May – September 2021: The course aims to critically analyse the humanitarian architecture, the different humanitarian contexts, and decision-making for WASH through a multi-level governance approach.

REPORTS/VIDEOS

USAID Water for the World Implementation Research Agenda. USAID, November 2020. After undertaking a comprehensive and consultative process to identify and prioritize evidence gaps associated with its WASH programming approaches, USAID is launching the first-ever Water for the World Implementation Research Agenda to coordinate, integrate, and inspire research and learning in the WASH sector.

Water under fire volume 2: Strengthening sector capacity for a predictable, quality humanitarian response. UNICEF, November 2020. This second volume of the Water Under Fire report series is dedicated to the WASH sector’s capacity to deliver a predictable, quality humanitarian WASH response, and provides a change agenda and road map towards strengthening this capacity.

Kenya - Using drones to share COVID-19 information with vulnerable populations. COVID-19 Hygiene Hub, November 2020. Project staff decided to pilot the use of drones in humanitarian responses and felt that this was an interesting case study to generate new learnings.

Evaluating two novel handwashing hardware and software solutions in Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda. Oxfam, November 2020. The Promotion and Practice Handwashing Kit (PPHWK), a robust, user-friendly handwashing station, and Mum’s Magic Hands (MMH), a creative hygiene promotion strategy, were evaluated.

State of the World’s Sanitation. UNICEF, November 2020. This report includes a chapter on Sanitation for forcibly displaced persons.

COVID-19: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools. UNHCR, November 2020. This document presents the results of a survey assessing the WASH readiness of schools in UNHCR- supported refugee camps and refugee settlements.

WaterTalk: Good Geoscience in Dire Places: Searching for Water in Humanitarian Crises. The Water Institute, November 2020.  In this video, Distinguished Lecturer, Paul Bauman presented "Good Geoscience in Dire Places: Searching for Water in Humanitarian Crises."

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Evidence-based chlorination targets for household water safety in humanitarian settings: Recommendations from a multi-site study in refugee camps in South Sudan, Jordan, and Rwanda. Water Research, February 2021. Water quality monitoring in refugee/IDP camps should shift focus from distribution points to household points of consumption in order to monitor if the intended public health goal of safe water at the point of consumption is being achieved.

Disaster vulnerability and mitigation of humanitarian issues in coastal Bangladesh: Local evidence and knowledge gaps. Progress in Disaster Science, December 2020. Advantageous mitigation measures such as water purification methods and rainwater harvesting techniques, floating agriculture, seed preservation techniques, increasing the plinth of the house, awareness campaign on health issues, etc. were identified.

Previously unrecognized potential threat to children from manganese in groundwater in rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Chemosphere, March 2021. Shallow tubewells have higher Mn concentrations than deep tubewells. Detected concentrations exceed those in drinking water regulations/guidelines.

Dan Campbell

Knowledge Creation/WASH Specialist, ECODIT│www.ecodit.com
USAID Water Communications and Knowledge Management (CKM) Project
Implemented by a Consortium led by ECODIT
Email: dcam...@waterckm.com
Phone: 571-777-8485, ext. 107
Skype: dan.campbell49

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