Archives

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Post-Emergency Contexts (UNHCR, OXFAM GB)

UNHCR and Oxfam commissioned this study to better understand how emergency WASH services are delivered, and to identify how the provision of infrastructure can lead to sustainable service delivery and a more professional management mechanism. As many humanitarian crises are protracted in nature, emergency WASH services need to be sustained once humanitarian agencies depart. This report aims to review and identify alternative service delivery options, and to provide some pragmatic guidance that can be incorporated into emergency response programmes and tested, evaluated and built on in the future.

Oxfam research report: community Engagement in WASH Service Delivery in Zaatari camp

This study was commissioned by Oxfam in Jordan to map and analyse the perspectives of different stakeholders within the refugee population in Zaatari camp, as well as those within relevant organisations, regarding community engagement in WaSH services, and provide recommendations on this.

Rapid Methods for Assessing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Services in Emergency Settings (UNHCR, 2017b)

This document evaluates various sampling strategies that can be used during the emergency phase to estimate the status of WASH services in refugee camps or settlements.  The working paper presents the results of statistical analyses carried out on real data from Ethiopia.  The objective of the study was to evaluate the suitability of different sampling approaches and sample sizes in an attempt at recommending the optimal approach during emergencies.

OG804/2016a Cash Based Interventions for WASH Programmes in Refugee Settings (UNHCR, 2016)

This report is based on a desk-based review of secondary data, comprising published material as well as grey literature, supplemented with key informant interviews for programmes that lacked documentation. Section One summarises the current use of CBI in WASH programming. Section Two summarises the best practices and lessons learned including challenges faced, drawing on evidence from the project examples found. Section Three provides recommendations and best practice guidance for use of CBI in refugee settings. Section Four details existing tools and guidance.

Soap is not enough: handwashing practices and knowledge in refugee camps, Maban County, South Sudan (Buffalo University, 2012)

Refugees are at high risk for communicable diseases due to overcrowding and poor water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. Handwashing with soap removes pathogens from hands and reduces disease risk. A hepatitis E outbreak in the refugee camps of Maban County, South Sudan in 2012 prompted increased hygiene promotion and improved provision of soap, handwashing stations, and latrines. We conducted a study 1 year after the outbreak to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the refugees in Maban County.

Costing Water Services in Refugee Camps (IRC and UNHCR, 2015)

This report applies the life-cycle costs approach (LCCA) to the provision of water services in two UN refugee camps, Bambasi in Ethiopia and Kounoungou in Chad. It is based on cost data from financial reports in Geneva and both camps and on service-level data collected through the UNHCR monitoring system and on site through water point surveys.
The purpose of the study was (1) to better understand the structure, magnitude and drivers of the cost of providing a targeted level of water service to refugees, and (2) to reflect on the applicability of LCCA in the UNHCR monitoring framework and the potential for implementing it in systematically.

Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage in Refugee Situations, (UNHCR, 2015)

This document contains guidelines to help WASH actors in refugee settings select household water treatment products. The document includes an overview of: • Categories of HWTS; • Health benefits; • When to use HWTS and existing decision tree; • Criteria regarding HWT to be considered by the field; • Mandatory components; • UNHCR Checklist for HWTS; • HWT concerns; • Household water treatment cards; • Safe water storage;• Further reading; • Acknowledgement

Water Quality Study in Refugee Operations (UNHCR and SMU, 2011)

The SMU team conducted five sampling missions to UNHCR refugee camps in Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, Djibouti, and Liberia. Overall, these missions were considered a success with 17 camps, 7 villages, and a few additional sites visited. The team collected 213 camp samples and 229 total samples for analyses in the laboratory. Camp conditions and source water characteristics varied widely amongst the five countries but also within the camps themselves.