This document was prepared by UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa, under the leadership of Christophe Valingot and the review of Joachim Peeters (WASH Specialist) and Arnaud Laillou (Nutrition Specialist), on behalf of the WASH Regional Group and the Nutrition Regional Group.
This ...WASH - Nutrition strategic guidance note for West and Central Africa builds on the precedent WASH-in-NUT strategy elaborated in 2012 and is the regional outcome of a multiyear collaborative work conducted at country level between 2018 and 2022, in Mali, Niger, Nigeria Chad, Burkina Faso. This work is based on a strong multi-partner collaboration, involving national technical directorates of the water and sanitation sector as well as technical directorates of Health and Nutrition, civil society organizations, national and international NGOs as well as United Nations agencies.
This document can serve as a technical and strategic guide for any partner wishing to strengthen the intersectorality of WASH-Nutrition programmes. It presents the regional WASH & Nutrition context, a brief review of the latest scientific evidence, and proposes an integrated WASH-Nutrition programming framework adapted to the regional context of West and Central Africa. Beyond the implementation of programmes, this document also calls for the explicit and concrete inclusion of WASH-Nutrition integration into national policy documents.
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This Strategic Operating Framework (SOF) has been developed to guide WASH Sector partners in responding to humanitarian needs in Sudan in conjunction with the existing and forthcoming humanitarian response plans (2022 and 2023). This SOF is drafted in consultation with the Strategic Advisory Group (...SAG) at the national level and will be revised as the humanitarian situation evolves in line with changes made to the WASH Cluster response plan and other guidance received by the SAG and the Technical Working Groups. However, by adhering to the cluster (Sector) approach, the partners agree to:
Assist the authorities in responding to the WASH needs of the population affected.
Promote a common understanding of the WASH sector needs and interventions in the response context among the WASH partners.
Ensure a well-coordinated response and consequently increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of individual agency responses; and
Align towards common humanitarian principles and operational objectives.
Partners to conform to the broad operational framework outlined in this document. Agencies that breach these guidelines will be expected to provide clear justification to the WASH Sector and other WASH Sector partners through the SAG
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The NDMS&IP focuses on mainstreaming disability to promote equitable access to services in the six thematic areas of health, education, livelihoods, empowerment, and social inclusion and cross-cutting issues.
The first part of the NDMS&IP outlines incongruences between national and sectoral policie...s and pieces of legislation on one hand, and practice on the other and identifies key priority areas/themes of the strategy,
medium-term outcomes and strategies for each identified priority area/ theme. This process is largely informed by key findings and recommendations from a study on the Situation of Persons with Disabilities
in Malawi (CBMM/NAD, 2011). The study provides background descriptive information on existing national and sectoral policy and legal framework, level of access by children, adult women and males with disabilities to services in the areas of education, health, livelihoods and other social services as well as of participation by persons with disabilities through self-representation in development activities at various levels. A review of relevant documents at the international level further describes the disability situation in Malawi in the global context.
The second part of the NDMS&IP consists of the operational matrix, (Annex 1), a monitoring and evaluation framework (Annex 2) and budget estimates (Annex 3). This part outlines specific actions by various actors both in the public, private and civil society sectors to prioritise disability in their routine policy, programming, resource mobilisation and allocation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting routines. The action plan lays out priority sectors and concrete actions by setting out implementation schedules, defining targets, assigning responsibility to key duty bearers and rights holders for coordination, decision-making, monitoring and reporting, mobilisation and allocation and control of resources.
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The goal of the study was to assess the feasibility of the COVID-19 measures and their resultant impact on Persons with Disabilities in Malawi.
Specifically, the study addressed the following objectives:
a) To evaluate Government’s response to COVID-19 following the adoption of the new measures... of COVID-19 in January 2021 in line with principles and norms of human rights. (This includes establishing the extent to which the new measures have been implemented)
b) To assess the extent to which the provision health service delivery specifically access to health for PWDs including vaccine inflammation and facilities.
c) To establish the key COVID-19 related human rights violations during the pandemic period affecting PWDs
d) To assess the extent to which Government (and other nonstate actors) have implemented the recommendations from the preliminary MHRC statement
e) To provide advice and make recommendations to the Executive, Parliament and other stakeholders on how they can improve their response to COVID-19 from a rights perspective with a focus on PWDs.
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This document is produced with the intent of strengthening the assessment mechanisms for the Ethiopian WASH cluster and to ensure data is available to identify needs (who, where, what, how many) and to inform response planning accordingly. It will present the existing data environment in the country... and outline key steps in coordinating and planning assessments.
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2nd edition. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance to NTD programme managers and partners on how to engage and work collaboratively with the WASH community to improve delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene services to underserved population affected by many neglected tropical diseases. The ...toolkit draws on tools and practices used in the delivery of coordinated and integrated programmes for control, elimination and eradication of NTDs. This second edition include revisions and new tools based on experiences of using the toolkit in more than 20 countries.
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Children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable in humanitarian settings, yet they are often not able to access the services and protection they need. While multiple factors create these barriers, a major cause is how data about children with disabilities is collected and mapped. Data collect...ion processes often exclude or underrepresent the views of children with disabilities and thier caretakers. When the experiences of children with disabilities and their caretakers are not defined and collected, they become excluded from mainstreamed protective services, which are meant to serve all children. Children with disabilities also do not get the specialised interventions they need.
This guidance note explores how to use qualitative methods to create more robust assessment processes to ensure more effective programming and services for children with disabilities. This note provides promising practices for engaging with children with disabilities and includes sample tools that can be tailored to fit the needs of a particular assessment process. The note also explores the importance of thoughtful cross-sectoral responses so that children with disabilities, and their families, are carefully considered in areas like water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), education, health, and nutrition, and therefore receive the holistic support they need and deserve.
This note is intended for a broad audience of relevant child protection actors, including practitioners, coordination groups, researchers, and donors. The information is not limited to one type of humanitarian setting, geographic region, or culture. As a result, the practices and guidance should be adapted to each specific context, ideally in partnership with well-informed local actors, such as representatives from local organisations for persons with disabilities.
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La atención concedida a la equidad en la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible obliga a encontrar nuevas formas de ampliar progresivamente los servicios a las poblaciones que no los reciben. Las alianzas satisfactorias entre el sector encargado del suministro de agua, el saneamiento y la higien...e (WASH, por su sigla en inglés) y los programas de lucha contra las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas (ETD) pueden contribuir a lograr esta aspiración. Sin embargo, colaborar para encontrar juntos esas nuevas formas, exige nuevos modos de pensar. En esta edición corregida se presenta un conjunto de herramientas para ayudar a los países y los programas de lucha contra la ETD a colaborar con la comunidad relacionada con las acciones de agua, saneamiento e higiene, y guía en la creación de alianzas, en la movilización de recursos y en el diseño, la aplicación y la evaluación de las intervenciones. Más que una guía de “buenas prácticas”, se trata de un conjunto de herramientas basadas en la experiencia adquirida en la realidad de un programa.
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This report summarizes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during 2022. It describes how the Organization continued to deliver its essential WASH programming as elaborated in its 2018–2025 strategy.
The Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT) presents a framework and acts as a guide to support multisectoral action to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health care. Central to the WASH FIT methodology is training and incremental improvements.
Implementat...ion of WASH FIT requires six preparatory steps at the national level, one of which is conducting national sensitization and training of trainers, followed by facility-level training. At the facility level, step 1 (of five) involves establishing and training a WASH FIT team.
The WASH FIT methodology is outlined in WASH FIT: A practical guide for improving quality of care through water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities. Second edition. (the WASH FIT guide), which includes a set of templates designed to help users with each phase of the improvement cycle.
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Fully functioning water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and health care waste management services are a critical aspect of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, and ensuring patient safety and quality of care. Such services are also essential for creating an environment that supports the dig...nity and human rights of all care seekers, especially mothers, newborns, children and care providers.
WASH and waste services are also critical for preventing and effectively responding to disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in these basic services (Box 1). These gaps threaten the safety of patients and caregivers, and have environmental consequences, especially as a result of large increases in plastic health care waste. In short, WASH is a critical foundation for improving quality across the health system (1).
Many facilities lack plans and budgets for WASH, which has impacts on IPC. This lack of services, and of systems to improve them, compromises the ability to provide safe and quality care, and places health care providers and those seeking care at substantial risk of infection and loss of dignity. Unhygienic health care facilities without drinking water or functional toilets are also a disincentive to seeking care and undermine staff morale – these factors can have a critical impact on controlling infectious disease outbreaks.
Climate change and its impacts on WASH and health services, gender-specific needs, and equity in service provision and management all require rigorous attention, adaptable tools and regular monitoring.
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Azraq refugee camp located in Zarqa governorate was established in April 2014. As of June 2023, the camp continues to hosts 40,600 Syrian refugees, with 61% of the population children, and 25% of all households female-headed (UNHCR, 2023).
The water supply system in Azraq has been operational sin...ce 2017 across the four villages of the camp and consists of 300 tap stands, two boreholes and two storage locations (each with 16 T-95 steel tanks).
Based on data from UNICEF (2022), the community is provided on average 2100 cubic meters of safe, treated water a day, which is distributed across the camp via a gravity flow system. A distribution schedule is in place, with water pumped during two shift times each day in the morning and evening. Monthly data reported through ActivityInfo (2023) shows a range 53.5-76.3 million liters per month provided through the network in 2022 for an average of 57 liters/person/day – well above the locally agreed minimum standard of 35 liters/person/day and the SPHERE standard of 15 liters/person/day.
Latrine and shower facilities in the camp are organized through communal WASH blocks shared typically between three households and connected to water and greywater networks. However, based on an ACF and World Vision assessment (2022), 60% of the surveyed households are using private latrines (50% self-constructed latrines, and 10% constructed by WASH actors), 24% of households used communal latrines as private latrines not shared with other families, and 16% reported the use of communal latrines shared with other families.
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What you should do as head of school or child centre to prevent cholera:
Educate all staff and pupils on the common cholera transmission routes and how to prevent it.
Educate all kitchen staff on how to handle food and cooking utensils. Emphasis the key points below:
o All kitchen staff MUST wa...sh their hands with soap and chlorine solution before cooking or handling food.
o All food should be properly stored to prevent contamination from insects etc.
o Wash all food in safe water.
o All food served should be properly cooked, and served hot.
o Only allow kitchen staff to enter the kitchen and to serve food.
o Wash dishes with soap or chlorine solution and rinse under safe water. Dry dishes on a rack well above the ground and in the direct sunlight (sunlight will help to disinfect).
All students should wash their hands with soap and safe water or chlorine solution before eating
Avoid washing your hands in a bowl of standing water, always use safe, running water!
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A sanitary inspection is a simple, on-site evaluation (traditionally using a checklist) to help identify and support the management of priority risk factors that may lead to contamination of a drinking-water supply. Sanitary inspections are a well-established and widely-applied practice. They can su...pport water safety planning, and in some contexts, may be a simplified alternative to water safety plans.
This publication presents the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) sanitary inspection packages. These packages update the sanitary inspection forms in WHO’s 1997 Guidelines for drinking-water quality. Volume 3: surveillance and control of community supplies. With more than 25 years of practical experience with the application of sanitary inspections, these packages have been developed from a comprehensive evidence review and established good practices.
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Small drinking-water supplies commonly experience operational, managerial, technical and resourcing challenges that impact their ability to deliver safe and reliable services. The needs and opportunities associated with these supplies therefore warrant explicit consideration in policies and regulati...ons.
These Guidelines, specifically tailored to small water supplies, build on over 60 years of guidance by the World Health Organization (WHO) on drinking-water quality and safety. They focus on establishing drinking-water quality regulations and standards that are health based and context appropriate; on proactively managing risks through water safety planning and sanitary inspections; and on carrying out independent surveillance. The guidance is intended primarily for decision-makers at national and subnational levels with responsibility for developing regulatory frameworks and support programmes related to these activities. Other stakeholders involved in water service provision will also benefit from the guidance in this document.
Designed to be practical and accessible, these Guidelines offer clear guidance that is rooted in the principle of progressive improvement. State-of-the-art recommendations and implementation guidance are provided, drawn from a comprehensive evidence review and established good practices. Additionally, case examples are provided from countries and areas around the world to demonstrate how the guidance in this publication has been implemented in practice in a wide variety of contexts.
Together with WHO’s 2024 Sanitary inspection packages – a supporting tool for the Guidelines for drinking-water quality: small water supplies, these Guidelines update and supersede WHO’s 1997 Guidelines for drinking-water quality. Volume 3: surveillance and control of community supplies. Key changes to this updated publication include a greater focus on preventive risk management and a broader range of small water supplies covered, including those managed by households, communities and professional entities.
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The Guidelines for drinking-water quality: small water supplies have been developed to address the needs and opportunities associated with small supplies to facilitate progressive improvement towards safe and sustainable drinking-water services for all. These Guidelines are based on the principal re...commendation in the World Health Organization’s Guidelines for drinking-water quality, and they provide guidance on applying that recommendation to small water supplies in particular. These Guidelines aim to help governments and practitioners improve the safety of drinking-water delivered through small supplies.
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Ces Directives sur la qualité de l’eau de boisson : petits approvisionnements en eau ont été élaborées pour aborder les besoins et les possibilités associés aux petits approvisionnements afin de favoriser l’amélioration progressive vers des services d’alimentation en eau de boisson sû...rs et durables pour tous. Ces directives se fondent sur la principale recommandation des Directives de qualité pour l’eau de boisson de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé ; elles visent à fournir des orientations concernant l’application de cette recommandation aux petits approvisionnements en eau en particulier. Ces directives visent à aider les gouvernements et les praticiens à améliorer la sécurité sanitaire de l’eau de boisson fournie par de petits approvisionnements.
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Las Guías para la calidad del agua de consumo humano: pequeños sistemas de abastecimiento de agua se han elaborado para tratar las necesidades y oportunidades asociadas a los pequeños sistemas de abastecimiento, con el fin de facilitar la mejora progresiva hacia unos servicios seguros y sostenibl...es de agua de consumo humano para todas las personas. Estas Guías se basan en la recomendación principal de las Guías para la calidad del agua de consumo humano de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, y proporcionan orientación sobre la aplicación de esas recomendaciones a los pequeños sistemas de abastecimiento de agua en particular. El objetivo de estas Guías consiste en ayudar a los gobiernos y a los profesionales a mejorar la seguridad del agua de consumo humano suministrada a través de pequeños sistemas de abastecimiento.
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وقد وُضعت هذه الإرشادات المعنونة "إرشادات بشأن مياه الشرب: إمدادات المياه الصغيرة" لتناول الاحتياجات والفرص المرتبطة
بإمدادات المياه الصغيرة وتيسير التحسين التد...ريجي نحو خدمات مياه شرب آمنة ومستدامة للجميع.
تستند هذه الإرشادات إلى التوصية الرئيسية الواردة في إرشادات منظمة الصحة العالمية بشأن جودة مياه الشرب وتوفّر إرشادات حول تطبيق هذه التوصية على إمدادات المياه صغيرة الحجم على وجه الخصوص.
تهدف هذه الإرشادات إلى مساعدة الحكومات والممارسين على تحسين سلامة مياه الشرب المقدمة من خلال الإمدادات الصغيرة.
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The situation in the Gaza Strip is dire, with syndromic surveillance revealing high rates of infectious diseases. The risk of further spread may be exacerbated by several factors, including overcrowding, inadequate water and sanitation, disruption of routine healthcare services, and a dysfunctional ...health system due to the ongoing conflict.
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