Connecting Emergency Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Practitioners

Established in 2017, the network currently has over 250 members worldwide, with a core group of active participants who share and exchange information regularly. The network was created by the USAID Water Knowledge Management and Communications (CKM) Project at the request of USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and UNICEF's Global WASH Cluster. The network's primary function is to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned among its members through biweekly email updates, which summarize recent emergency WASH literature, upcoming events, and updates from group members. The updates are a valuable resource for network members, saving time and effort by clearly summarizing current trends in the sector. The network has also led to learning and collaboration among members, with members contacting each other on topics such as child sanitation in emergency situations and other areas of interest. The Emergency WASH Network has undertaken several collaborative activities, including compiling an online directory of in-line chlorinators for water treatment, developing an online humanitarian WASH collection, and creating an online emergency WASH library of peer-reviewed studies. The network has also prepared member surveys and disseminated emergency WASH information with the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance Working Group on Emergency and Reconstruction Situations. The network's knowledge management services and activities include biweekly updates, an emergency WASH section on the Globalwaters.org website, and annotated bibliographies prepared at the request of network members. The network is planning to establish more ways for members to become active in sharing information and conducting knowledge management activities, including engaging members through social media and collaborating on webinars. The USAID Water CKM Project supports USAID's Water Office and its partners to increase water and sanitation sector program knowledge sharing and data collection, both internally and externally. The project provides research and analysis to improve USAID program outcomes and learning, and enhances communication and outreach to increase awareness of USAID water program activities and results to a wide range of stakeholders and partners.