Will there be some weekly summaries posted here as mentioned in the first post?

I think it is an interesting topic, but you can not even follow the discussion without joining linkdin.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't feel like signing up for a for-profit, personal data selling head-hunting website that recently had a major data breach with millions of personal accounts hacked and identity information stolen.

Welcome to the Week 3 thematic discussion on Linking WASH to other development sectors. This week we will look at WASH and climate change.

There is general globally consensus among climate change scientists that water is the main channel through which climate change impacts will be felt by people, ecosystems and economies. Both observation records and climate projections provide strong evidence that freshwater resources are vulnerable, with the potential to be strongly impacted. The impacts on fresh water resources are perceived to also have an impact on WASH results. For example, floods undoubtedly cause sanitation systems to overflow, result in damage to infrastructure and create widespread sanitation related health problems. Furthermore, environmental degradation exacerbated by intense rainfall events and agriculture in sub-Saharan region clearly impacts infrastructure and poses a longer term threat to sanitation. Already there are sanitation ‘wars’ at individual, household and community levels because of shared pit latrines. I argued that addressing issues of sustainable sanitation amidst climate change will require a paradigm shift. I propose sanitation programmes should adopt an integrated, comprehensive ecosystem approach such as catchment protection, water resources management and dissemination of basic knowledge on climate change and innovations. I invite you to the discussion guided by the following questions:
1. Does the current level of awareness on climate risk in the global south impact sanitation? And, are there opportunities to translate current awareness into practical measures that could increase the resilience of sanitation programmes?
2. How should current sanitation management be modified amidst climate change?
3. Does climate change imply only bad news about sanitation in developing countries?
Are there any innovative ways of addressing these issues?

To participate in the discussion, please join here:

WSSCC CoP: www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1238187

We look forward to some constructive and in-depth discussions!

Welcome to the Week 2 thematic discussion on Linking WASH to other development sectors. This week we will look at WASH and Disability.

The SDGs aim to provide access to improved sanitation and improved water sources to all by 2030. This will require services to be delivered to the hardest to reach, the poorest and those whose water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs are currently not addressed by mainstream programming. Disabled people are reported to be at increased risk of having inadequate access to WASH facilities. The World Disability Report estimates that 15% of the world’s population are disabled. Consequently, the new SDG will not be met unless access to WASH is improved for disabled people.
1. What examples exist of successful efforts to address the needs of disabled people within WASH interventions?
2. How do we convince policy makers in low and middle income countries that including people with disabilities in WASH programs is an important issue given that money is limited and WASH access is low generally?
3. We have lots of good examples of adaptive technologies but these have only been piloted on a small scale. How can we create a demand for innovative WASH designs among people with disability and what mechanisms can we use to get innovative design ideas to people with disabilities?
4. Currently WASH inclusivity is monitored by counting how many accessible toilets/water points have been built. We do not measure use of these facilities or whether they are acceptable and fully meet the needs of people with disabilities. What types of indicators or measurement tools might be adopted to do this better?
5. In high income countries the needs of the majority population were catered for first and the needs of people with disabilities were addressed later through targeted initiatives. Yet in poorer countries we argue that initiatives should be inclusive from the outset. Is this appropriate?
6. What is the appropriate role for subsidy in addressing the needs of people with disabilities within WASH interventions and how could subsidy best be targeted?

To participate in the discussion, please join here:

WSSCC CoP: www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1238187

We look forward to some constructive and in-depth discussions!

Welcome to the Week 1 thematic discussion on Linking WASH to other development sectors. This week we will look at WASH and Nutrition.

The session this week is being led by Megan Wilson-Jones and Dan Jones of WaterAid.

Growing evidence suggests that the links between nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are stronger than previously understood. The World Health Organisation estimates that 50% of undernutrition is associated with infections caused by poor WASH, which include at least three biological pathways; diarrhoea, environmental enteric dysfunction and intestinal worms. In addition, other indirect social and economic pathways also playing an important role linking poor WASH to undernutrition. These complex and overlapping pathways highlight the critical need to better link WASH and nutrition programmes at a community level in order to a) contribute to improved nutrition outcomes and b) enhance potential positive synergies between programmes and in doing so improve efficiencies and cost-effectiveness.

The multiple pathways through which WASH directly and indirectly impact on nutrition has provided a clear rationale for embedding and incorporating WASH components into nutrition policies, plans and programmes. However, the incentives for the WASH sector to make programmes more nutrition-sensitive or to integrate with nutrition programmes are not necessarily as obvious.

Since both nutrition and WASH programmes rely to some degree on sustained behaviour change, behaviour change interventions could offer promising opportunities to integrate nutrition and WASH programmes.

Questions for consideration:
1. What incentives are needed to more systematically collaborate across nutrition and WASH programmes where WASH is a major underlying cause of undernutrition?
2. While there is no single blueprint for how to integrate WASH and nutrition programmes, are there key principles or areas of commonality which should be promoted, such as behaviour change, when identifying opportunities to work together?
3. What role can national and global advocacy play in progressing the nutrition-WASH agenda?

To participate in the discussion, please join here:

WSSCC CoP: www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1238187

We look forward to some constructive and in-depth discussions!

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Community of Practice on Sanitation and Hygiene in Developing Countries and the Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation at Mzuzu University (Malawi) are holding a joint 3-week thematic discussion on linking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to other development sectors. The LinkedIn hosted CoP has over 5,900 members each working in WASH and other related sectors; this thematic discussion will be an opportunity to bring together sector practitioners and researchers to share knowledge, learn from each other, identify best practice and explore how WASH and other development sectors can collaborate in this SDG era.

The thematic discussion will take place on the CoP; with a coordinator moderating the discussions. The discussion will be split into three inter-linked sub-themes and conversation leaders will frame and prompt debates each week on:

24 - 30 October – Theme 1: WASH and Nutrition – At a grassroots level, WASH and nutrition are not often combined, what are some examples of successful merging of these themes? What about the health impact and the perceptions and views of communities? If you had one area of WASH and nutrition which makes the biggest impact to focus on what would it be?

31 October - 6 November – Theme 2: WASH and Disability – What are the barriers to accessing WASH people with disabilities in developing countries? Is standard CLTS inclusive? How can schools in developing countries be more accessible? What are some examples of successful merging of these two themes?

7 - 12 November – Theme 3: Climate Change and WASH –What are some of the local strategies in place to strengthen climate change resiliency and WASH objectives? If an ODF community build a pit latrine by cutting down old growth trees, have we made a positive or negative impact at a community level? Are there more innovative ways looking at not only the environment and human dimensions of these problems? What are some examples of successful merging of these two themes by field practitioners?

Join us for the discussion with some of the following thematic experts:
*Megan Wilson-Jones and Dan Jones, WaterAid
*Adam Biran and Sian White, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
*Mavuto Tembo, Mzuzu University, Malawi

Weekly summaries of discussions will be posted on the CoP as well as a synthesis report of overarching findings at the end.

To participate in the discussion, please join here:

WSSCC CoP: www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1238187

We look forward to some constructive and in-depth discussions!