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Putting equality, inclusion and rights at the centre of a COVID-19 water, sanitation and hygiene response

NATH, Priya
GOSLING, Louisa
April 2020

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Issues of gender inequality and of vulnerability of marginalised people (those with chronic health issues and those living with disabilities) in the context of WASH and emergencies are highlighted.

Ways in which responses to the COVID-19 emergency can mitigate both existing and new vulnerabilities are proposed. A list of "dos and don'ts" is provided.

The value of mainstreaming: why disability-inclusive programming is good for development

Lorraine Wapling
2015

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Disabled people are often among the poorest and most marginalised people in communities. Many development organisations state that their intention is to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged and yet don’t actively include disabled people in their work. Given the huge but largely unrecognised potential contribution of 1 billion disabled people towards economic and social progress, it makes good sense for development organisations to actively engage them. Disabled people have a right to participate in and benefit from development, and their inclusion will help reduce the inequalities that are slowing down progress on the elimination of extreme poverty.

Compendium of accessible WASH technologies

JONES, Hazel
WILBUR, Jane
2014

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This compendium of accessible WASH technologies is designed for use by staff, such as health workers and community volunteers, working directly with communities in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. A few examples of technologies are presented that families can adapt to suit their needs and budgets with many more options possible. Most of the ideas are geared towards disabled and older people, but are suitable for anyone who may have difficulty using standard facilities, such as pregnant women, children and people who are ill. The main focus is on household facilities, although some ideas might be useful for institutional facilities as well

Mainstreaming disability and ageing in water, sanitation and hygiene sector

JONES, Hazel
September 2013

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This report presents the findings of a desk study that provided an overview of the current state of disability and ageing issues in WASH, from the perspective of the WASH sector. Both disabled and older people were looked at together, because many frail older people, although they may reject the label ‘disabled’, experience impairments that limit their daily activities, which result in them facing similar kinds of barriers to accessing WASH

Menstrual hygiene matters : a resource for improving menstrual hygiene round the world

HOUSE, Sarah
MAHON, Therese
CAVILL, Sue
2012

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This resource provides a comprehensive resource on menstrual hygiene that supports the development of context-specific information for improving practices for women and girls in lower- and middle-income countries. The resource presents a synthesis of good practices and guidance considering a range of contexts and situations for women and girls around the world, and encourages increased engagement in advocacy . It is divided into modules, each with its own toolkit, focusing on various aspects of menstrual hygiene. Readers can choose the sections most relevant to them and follow the recommendations and cross references for more information. 

 

This resource is for use by all professionals who are concerned with improving the lives of girls and women. It will be of particular use to WASH sector professionals, as well as those from other sectors, including health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, education, community development, protection and gender

What the global report on disability means for the WASH sector

WILBUR, Jane
August 2011

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"This report gives an overview of the information relevant to the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in the world’s first report on disability. It also highlights how WaterAid is addressing the recommendations in the report, as well as where we could develop our approaches further"

Including disabled people in sanitation and hygiene services

COLLENDER, Guy
et al
June 2011

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"The needs of disabled people in developing countries are consistently overlooked when it comes to providing sanitation and hygiene services. This reality has severe and widespread consequences for the health, dignity, education and employment of disabled people and their caregivers. This briefing note explores these issues and suggests how more and better research could influence policy and improve programmes"
Briefing note

Identifying and supporting vulnerable people in community-led total sanitation : a Bangladesh case study

FAWZI, A
JONES, H
2011

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Community – led sanitation often neglects the poorest and most disadvantaged people in society as they are often unable to participate. This paper looked at the experiences of three CLTS communities in Bangladesh. It found that a well being ranking, amongst other things, should be used to help identify vulnerable members in the community and that vulnerable people themselves strongly believe in the power of CLTS to improve their livelihoods and their importance in the participation of CLTS activities. Furthermore, vulnerable people are motivated to move up the sanitation ladder and most households have made improvements to their latrine. Finally, the installation of toilet seats on latrines to aid disabled people has in some cases decreased the sanitation independence of other household members 

Principles and practices for the inclusion of disabled people in access to safe sanitation : a case study from Ethiopia

WILBUR, Jane
October 2010

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This report describes a formative evaluation of WaterAid’s pilot project in Butajira, Ethiopia. Using research methodologies such as a literature review, case studies, participant observation and semi-structured interviews, the findings present that WaterAid applied the charity model within its intervention and had limited impact on societal discrimination. The report concludes by recommending nine key principles for development organisations to mainstream inclusive development. This report would be useful to people interested in the inclusion of disabled people in access to safe sanitation

Principles and practices for the inclusion of disabled people in access to safe sanitation : a case study from Ethiopia

WILBUR, Jane
October 2010

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This briefing note presents a formative evaluation of WaterAid’s pilot project in Butajira, Ethiopia. It highlights background information of the project, key components of the research, the findings of the evaluation and nine guiding principles for development organisations. This note is useful to people interested in the inclusion of disabled people in access to safe sanitation
WaterAid briefing note

Equity and inclusion : a rights based approach

GOSLING, Louisa
January 2010

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This policy report provides a practical understanding of equity and inclusion aimed to reach out to people who are excluded and marginalised by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) in the world’s poorest communities. The purpose of this framework is to help implement WaterAid’s policy on equity and inclusion. The policy is divided into the following three sections: WaterAid’s position and approach; standards and indicators for equity and inclusion; and an explanation of terms and examples. This document is useful for people interested in international NGO policies on WASH equity and inclusion

Menstrual hygiene in South Asia : a neglected issue for WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programmes

MAHON, Thérèse
FERNANDES, Maria
2010

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This report explores the reasons why menstral hygiene is not generally included in WASH initiatives, and the social and health impact of this neglect on women and girls. Examples are provided of successful approaches integrating menstral hygiene in WASH programmes in the South Asian region. This report is interesting for development practitioners interested in integrating menstral hygiene into WASH programmes

Accessibility diagnostic : reviewing the accessibility of WASH facilities

RANDRIANARISOA, Christiane
January 2010

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This paper presents the key findings of a study that evaluated the quality and accessibility of facilities built after a training by Handicap International in Madagascar. The study's methodolgy, results and recommendations are highlighted. This paper would be useful for people interested in inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene design for people with disabilities

Sustainability and equity aspects of total sanitation programmes : a study of recent WaterAid supported programmes in three countries global synthesis report

EVANS, Barbara
et al
2009

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This report is a synthesis of three individual country studies on Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) activities in WaterAid programmes in Bangladesh, Nepal and Nigeria. The studies examined whether CLTS had led to sustainable and equitable sanitation behaviour change. The study explored whether achieving open-defecation-free (ODF) status is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the entire community to use and maintain hygienic latrines in the long-term. Also, where possible, the study explored the additional factors that enhance the probability that ODF status will translate into entrenched behaviour change, as well as the capacity of communities to move onwards up the ‘sanitation ladder’

Menstrual hygiene : breaking the silence | Beyond construction : use by all|A collection of case studies from sanitation and hygiene promotion practitioners in South Asia

AHMED, Rokeya
YESMIN, Kabita
2008

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This paper provides information about an awareness-builidng programme from WaterAid Bangladesh focusing on the issue of menstrual hygiene. It highlights the incorporation of menstrual awareness and management in sanitation and hygiene programmes. This paper is useful for people interested in menstrual hygiene issues

Community led total sanitation (CLTS) : an evaluation of the WaterAid’s CLTS programme in Nigeria

BURTON, Salma
August 2007

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Since establishing a programme in Nigeria in 1995, WANG and partners have tried several approaches to promoting sanitation which have not yielded sustainable changes. In its attempt to seek a more sustainable methodology, WANG initiated the pilot testing of the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach which aimed to facilitate a participatory process of empowering local communities to improve their sanitation situation. This evaluation report assesses the efficiency, effectiveness and relevance of the CLTS programme, and recommends ways of improving and scaling up the programme in Nigeria. The evaluation provides wide ranging evidence that that CLTS is an effective approach to establishing hygiene and sanitation practice in Nigeria, but the effectiveness varied depending on certain conditions which will need to be taken into consideration when scaling up the initiative

Inclusive WASH : what does it look like

WATERAID
WATER, ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (WEDC)

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for a WASH programme to be inclusive, it has to respond to the local context. This factsheet provides a checklist of some of the issues to take into account to make WASH programmes more inclusive

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