Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the second edition of the GWC 2022 Monthly Newsletter! We are pleased to share in this issue news from on the upcoming Global WASH Cluster (GWC) Priority Country List for 2022 and the Humanitarian WASH Graduate Professional Diploma Programme new cohort, key operational coordination updates, and fresh news from partner organizations including UNICEF, WHO, USAID and others.
In addition, key documents from national humanitarian WASH coordination platforms are also featured in the operational update section. Highlights from countries this month showcase the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Wash Cluster Updates and 2021 Cluster Achievements and the Yemen WASH Cluster Emergency Preparedness Snapshot.
We remind all that we value showcasing the incredible work national humanitarian WASH coordination platforms and partners are doing around the world, so please send us your photos, stories, and other content to highlight the work of your team or draw attention to issues that matter to you. Read our submission guidelines here. All items can be sent directly for inclusion to the next newsletter by Friday, 25th March 2022 to globalwashcluster@gmail.com.
Thank you for your attention and we hope you will find this insightful!
Best regards,
CAST (Cluster Advocacy and Support Team)
Photo credits: © UNICEF/UN0598917/
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GWC Collaborations and News
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Ukraine Crisis Update
 As expressed by the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering aid in Ukraine. The current WASH situation in Ukraine and neighboring countries remains highly volatile and whilst information is collected on the impact of recent military action on WASH infrastructures, an immediate Flash Appeal has been launched on the 1st March 2022 to respond to the current crisis. A total number of 12 million people are in need of WASH humanitarian assistance and 6 million people are being targeted with immediate WASH assistance as per the initial WASH response plan (read more here). The total requirements for the WASH cluster have been estimated at 83 million USD (see financial data here).
The GWC is currently monitoring the situation and will hold a briefing for partners as soon as the situation permits - more information will be sent this week on that matter.
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GWC Priority Countries 2022
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The 2022 Priority Country List of the Global WASH Cluster (GWC) is a simple tool for the GWC to have an overview of the relative coordination and contextual complexities across the national WASH clusters. The Priority Country list helps the GWC to identify where support is, probably, most needed and which coordination platforms are struggling.
The list is developed at the beginning of each year and updated once or twice during the year. The development of the list draws on data from UNICEF and IASC emergency scales, for contextual analysis from INFORM severity index, which is a composite indicator that summarises a wide range of already existing, quantitative information about crisis severity (including multi-sector data, impact and complexity of crisis as well as the conditions of affected people).
In addition, the list includes data from the GWC Minimum Requirements review (platform staffing, coordination functions, partner commitment). The GWC and FST are available to provide support for coordination in any country affected by crisis.
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Accredited Humanitarian WASH courses – Distance Learning Courses - Second call for application
 IHE Delft has launched a call for applications for the second cohort of 4 humanitarian WASH courses starting the 2nd of May 2022.
The Graduate Professional Diploma Programme (GPDP) consists of 4 accredited courses at postgraduate level (a bachelor's degree is required), targeting at young and mid-career water, sanitation or public health professionals working (or aspiring working) in a humanitarian context.
The 4 courses are:
- Governance in Humanitarian Contexts (starts 2nd May 2022)
- Public and Environmental Health in Emergencies (starts 5th September 2022)
- Water and Sanitation in Urban Humanitarian Contexts (starts 16th January 2023)
- Building Resilient Systems in Fragile Contexts (starts 1st May 2023)
A brief description of the program and application system is provided in this leaflet. You can start your application via this link. Note that the deadline for applications is 9th April 2022.
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Tineke Hooijmans, t.hooijmans@un-ihe.org.
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The Global WASH Cluster provides Operational Support for coordination platforms in humanitarian emergencies through deployments and remote support. The support is provided by the Field Support Team (FST), a consortium of WASH agencies providing 6 staff (3 x coordinators, 2 x information managers, and 1 x assessment specialist) with the support and oversight of the GWC-Cluster Advocacy and Support Team (CAST). To access these services national coordinators or information managers can send an email or inquiry to gwchelp@unicef.org (SWZ-GWC Help Desk). |
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Field Support Team (FST) - New Member - People-Centered Programming Specialist
 We would like to welcome Caroline Haar, a new FST member with NORCAP, who will be working on people-centered programming. Caroline is a GBV Specialist with extensive experience working on GBV programs, protection, women’s empowerment, and inter-agency coordination in humanitarian settings.
Caroline most recently worked with the UNFPA Humanitarian Office as GBViE and Anticipatory Action Specialist. She has held several positions in the Middle East and Horn of Africa regions, including as GBV Sub-Cluster Coordinator for UNFPA Ethiopia and posts with UNRWA and ABAAD Centre for Gender Equality in Lebanon. She holds an MS degree in Development Economics and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. We wish her a warm welcome to the community!
Read more on the Field Support Team here. |
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Field Support Team (FST) Deployments
WASH Cluster Coordinator Support to Somalia – Direct Mission
 On top of conflict and disease outbreaks (cholera), Somalia remains on the frontline of climate change and is the most severely drought-affected country in the Horn of Africa, with a number of people in need of 7.7 million in 2022. The combined impact of these recurring stress factors has deepened and widened poverty in Somalia. Seasonal cholera outbreak currently brings an additional threat to this already precarious situation. Due to the general deterioration of the context, the FST was requested to provide in-person support on national cluster coordination to the country.
This additional capacity has been provided through Karl Lellouche, Cluster Coordinator with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), from 14 th of February and is planned to conclude on 10 th of April 2022.
Up to now, the main focus of support has been on coordinating Somalia WASH actors, help develop the draught related capacity mapping, review the funding capacity of partners, including contributing to a donors meeting around drought response and develop a cholera preparedness plan.
Read more on the Somalia WASH Sector Website here. |
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Field Support Team (FST) Deployments
WASH Cluster Information Management Support to Central African Republic – Remote Support
 Humanitarian needs in the Central African Republic have reached an unprecedented level in five years, due to armed violence and economic recession, plunging 2.2 million in severe needs that require an emergency response. Facing the challenge of recruiting a national Information Manager, and due to the general deterioration of the context, the FST was requested to provide remote support on information systems, in order to allow accurate and effective strategic decisions, especially around the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP 2022).
This additional capacity has been provided through Haitham Farag, Information Management Officer with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), from 10th of February and is planned to conclude on 2nd March 2022.
During this period, the main focus of support is to help develop key response monitoring systems and coordination supporting tools such as automated contacts management, real time identification of gaps and partners activities, plus contributing to the country cluster website improvement.
Read more on the CAR WASH Sector Website (under reconstruction) here.
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GWC Recent Webinars
We are sharing with you the links of the recorded presentations from previous webinars held by the GWC CAST and FST to National Humanitarian WASH Coordination Platforms.
GWC Coordination Toolkit
We also remind all that the GWC Coordination Toolkit is our live resource for guidance in all matters for coordination, information management and assessments.
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Resources and Tools from National Humanitarian WASH Coordination Platforms - November 2021:
We encourage all National Humanitarian WASH Coordination Platforms to send their examples, guidance, tools on coordination, information management, assessment and technical guidelines/documents directly to: globalwashcluster@gmail.com.
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UNICEF WASH - Key Updates and New Resources
Shortfalls in Social Spending in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. COVID-19 and Shrinking Finance for Social Spending
 Financing quality social services will require increased public investment and greater mobilization of both domestic and international resources in the post-COVID era. Currently, low- and middle-income countries invest, on average, just one third of their total government expenditure in social spending on education, health and social protection. However, the fiscal space to enhance social spending remains constrained in many parts of the world. Given the scale of the challenge facing many countries, a renewed focus on financing social spending is needed to address widening inequalities.
Read more here.
Disability Inclusive WASH Programme Data Collection, Monitoring and Reporting
 There are at least 1 billion persons with disabilities globally. Persons with disabilities face significant barriers to accessing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Often these barriers remain unidentified, and the impact of WASH programmes on persons with disabilities is not measured as WASH monitoring processes are not designed to collect disability data. If persons with disabilities remain invisible in WASH data, they are more likely to be overlooked in WASH policies and programmes.
Read more here.
Monitoring and Evaluation for Rural Sanitation and Hygiene: Framework
 The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) Guidelines and Framework presented in this document (and in the accompanying M&E Indicator Framework) aim to encourage stakeholders in the rural sanitation and hygiene sector to take a more comprehensive, comparable and people focused approach to monitoring and evaluation. Many M&E frameworks currently reflect the interests and ambitions of particular implementing agencies – that is, community-led total sanitation (CLTS) interventions focused on open-defecation free (ODF) outcomes in triggered communities; market-based sanitation interventions focused on the number of products sold and whether sanitation businesses were profitable; and sanitation finance interventions reporting the number of facilities built using financial support. Read more here
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WASH and COVID-19 Longitudinal Data Collection Final Findings
 In 2020, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS) project conducted a rapid assessment and forecasting analysis of the effects of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and products in USAID high priority (HP) and strategy-aligned countries. In 2021, USAID tasked WASHPaLS with collecting and presenting available longitudinal data on the effects of COVID-19 on access to WASH services and products in USAID HP countries. Read more here.
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REMINDER - Register now to participate in the 9th World Water Forum
Under the theme of "Water Security for Peace and Development", the 9 th World Water Forum will be held in Dakar from 21st to 26th March 2022. Organized for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa, the Forum will provide a unique platform for professionals and decision-makers to address the priority of accelerating and expanding access to water and sanitation for all. In an era marked by Covid-19, the Forum will also contribute to building a resilient world where water is a central element in serving the essential needs of people and the planet.
We will keep you posted on the GWC's contribution to humanitarian WASH coordination sessions in the coming weeks - in the meantime, please have a look at the program here.
Read more and register here. |
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Inclusive WASH Survey - Independent
If you are a WASH professional with experience in humanitarian contexts, you are invited to take part in a research project “Inclusive WASH in Humanitarian responses” supported by Loughborough University. The purpose of this study is to gain information relating to the inclusion of persons with disabilities when WASH programming in humanitarian responses. The study aims to investigate how the inclusion of persons with disabilities can be ensured in WASH programming during emergency response. You will be asked to complete an anonymous online survey, which should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. Thanks for your support.
Start the survey here: https://lboro.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/inclusive-wash-copy-2
For any questions or concerns regarding the survey, please contact William Berbon berbonwilliam@gmail.com who is undertaking this research.
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Video of the Month - A Brief History of Toilets - Francis de los Reyes
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Latest WASH & Covid-19 New Updates From Partners
Global analysis of health care waste in the context of COVID-19, WHO - Feb 2022
 Globally, safe waste management services for healthcare waste are lacking, especially in least developed countries. The latest available data (from 2019) indicate that 1 in 3 healthcare facilities globally do not safely manage healthcare waste.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to large increases in healthcare waste, straining under resourced healthcare facilities and exacerbating environmental impacts from solid waste.
Read more here.
Other key resources:
- COVID-19 Data Explorer: Global Humanitarian Operations Monthly Highlights, Special 2021 Edition - View here
- RCCE Collective Latest Updates - February 2022 - View here
- OpenWHO course: Infodemic management 101. – OpenWHO, December 2021- view here
- WHO RCCE Collective Service, please sign-up for updates here
- WHO COVID-19 vaccine newsletter, please sign-up for updates here
- WHO Infodemic Management newsletter, please sign-up for updates here
- COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, please read here the Weekly Operational Update.
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On 27 February 2022, people cross the border from Ukraine into Poland. The escalating conflict in Ukraine poses an immediate and growing threat to the lives and well-being of the country’s 7.5 million children. The fighting is moving closer to the civilian population. Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed. Damage to civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of people without safe water, electricity or water.
© UNICEF/UN0598207/
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