Dear colleagues,

With humanitarian emergencies occurring at increasing rates and affecting a growing number of people, evidence-based strategies and new solutions – including in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) – are vital to ensure people have their essential needs met, can live in dignity and are protected from WASH-related diseases.

To identify spaces for innovation in emergency WASH and funding priorities, the Global WASH Cluster (GWC) joined forces with Elrha, Oxfam and academic partners to produce ‘Gaps in WASH in Humanitarian Response: 2021 Update’ - the most comprehensive global data collection of its kind. More than 1,700 people affected by crisis along with 700 in-country and global WASH practitioners have contributed views and experiences to this gap analysis, providing an important evidence base from which to set priorities for future WASH research, innovation, coordination and delivery.

The 2021 Gap Analysis was commissioned and funded by Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund, in collaboration with the GWC and delivered by Oxfam, Tufts University, Cranfield University and University of Leeds. This work was also made possible with funding and support from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The GWC would like to remind and encourage WASH partners and cluster platforms to use the gap analysis results and database at country levels, to discuss key results, and to consider the use of national data at coordination meetings and for strategic planning. We also encourage national coordinators to share this widely with their partners and further share the gap analysis launch through social media in the coming days (find us on Twitter @WashClusterglob).

Feel free to address any questions you have to globalwashcluster@gmail.com.

Best regards,