2020 GLOBAL WASH CLUSTER MARCH 2021
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ANNUAL REPORT
2020
GLOBAL WASH CLUSTER
MARCH 2021
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. GOVERNANCE AND PARTNERSHIP 3
3. COVID-19 IMPACTS 5
4. PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION 7
4.1 Strategic Objective #1 - Support to national humanitarian WASH coordination platforms 7
4.2 Strategic Objective #2 - Ensure that key WASH stakeholders have the capacity to coordinate and
deliver emergency WASH response 11
4.3 Strategic Objective # 3 – Influence and advocate for an effective humanitarian WASH
coordination response and funding 13
4.4 Strategic Objective # 4 – Provide humanitarian WASH actors a timely access to appropriate and
accurate knowledge on coordination and response 15
5. PROGRESS OF TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS 17
5.1 Cash and Markets 17
5.2 Quality of Response 18
5.3 Operational Research 19
5.4 Faecal Sludge Management 20
5.5 Hygiene Promotion 21
6. MAJOR ONGOING WASH INITIATIVES 22
6.1 WASH sector’s Road Map 22
6.2 Water Under Fire 23
6.3 WASH Severity Classification 24
6.4 WASH Gap Analysis Project 25
7. Financial Analysis of the 2016-2020 GWC Strategic Plan Implementation 26
Funding 26
Allocation and Expenditures 26
8. Funding Trends of WASH Operational Responses in Priority Countries 27
Funding Sources 27
Overall Funding Situation of Humanitarian WASH Responses 28
Funding for WASH Operational Responses in Priority Countries 29
Conclusion 29
ANNEXES 30
Annex 1. GWC’s Strategic Plan 2016 – 2020 Status 30
Annex 2. 2020 Country Profiles - Coordination Platforms 30
Annex 3. WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 – 2025 Initiative List 30
Annual Report 2020 – INTRODUCTION
1. INTRODUCTION
This document summarizes the progress made by the Global WASH Cluster (GWC) for 2020 summarizes the key results
achieved and challenges faced in implementing the GWC Strategic Plan (SP) and also highlights key recommendations
and outlines major on-going initiatives and collaborations. In addition, the report reflections upon how the new working
environment, due to Covid-19 has impacted the GWC and our work this year. The report is divided into of the following
five main sections:
• Update on the governance of the GWC;
• Impacts of Covid-19 on operations;
• Progress on the GWC Strategic Plan implementation, with a summary of the key achievements and main
constraints in 2020 and priorities for 2021;
• Update on the progress and priorities of the GWC’s Technical Working Groups (TWiGs); and
• Overview of major on-going initiatives and collaborations for the WASH sector.
2. GOVERNANCE AND PARTNERSHIP
The GWC is led by UNICEF, as the Cluster Lead Agency (CLA), and is composed of 77 full and associated members
working in the humanitarian WASH sector across international organizations, United Nations agencies, international non-
governmental organizations, academic institutes, and donors.1 The GWC’s Cluster Advocacy and Support Team (CAST)
was established to carry out the responsibilities of the Cluster Lead Agency (CLA), including leading the operational
support for the GWC. The Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) is composed of nine members and provides strategic
oversight to the CAST and representation of WASH partners to the GWC.2 The GWC is also constituted of a Field
Support Team (FST), that provides deployable and remote support to national coordination platforms, and TWiGs, that
provide technical leadership in key thematic areas, such as Cash and Markets, Quality of Response, Operational
Research, Fecal Sludge Management, and Hygiene Promotion.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Partnership - In 2020, seven new partners joined the GWC, including York University, German Jordan
University, FHI 360, Helvetas, Antenna, Premiere Urgence Internationale, and the French Water Partnership.
There are now 47 full and 30 associate members in the GWC. Beyond formal membership, the GWC continued
to strengthen its collaboration with key stakeholders in the WASH sector, maintaining a close working
relationship with the FST Consortium and Sanitation and Water for All (SWA).
• CAST - The recruitment was successful, and the new Global WASH Cluster Coordinator started the role as of
September 2020.
• SAG - A meeting was held in November 2020 to provide an update on the progress of the GWC’s Strategic
Plan 2016 – 2020, and other key initiatives and collaborations, such as the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020
2025 and the GWC Annual Meeting 2021. It was also an opportunity to introduce new SAG members to the
group and to launch the preparations for the election of a new SAG towards the end of 2021.
• FST - The transition of leadership of the FST Consortium was completed in November 2020, with NCA handing
over the lead to ACF. The CAST has established a partnership agreement with ACF to co-fund the FST
Manager role in 2021.
1 The number of full and associated members reflected in the 2019 GWC Annual Report, represented individuals and not partner organsations. The
full and associated members list have been revised to include one primary focal point for each organisation partnering with the GWC.
2 This includes four international non-governmental organizations (NGOs): Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Norweigan Church Aid (NCA), Solidarités
International (SI), and Welthungerhilfe (WHH); two United Nations organizations: the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as the CLA and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); one international organization, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC);
one representative of the National Cluster Coordinators: the State of Palestine; and one associated member: Red-R.
3
Annual Report 2020 – GOVERNANCE AND PARTNERSHIP
• Strategy and Advocacy - The GWC lead the production of key strategic and advocacy documents including
the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020-2025 and its Implementation Plan, and the Water Under Fire, Volume 2
Report.
• GWC Strategic Plan - The GWC’s Strategic Plan 2016 – 2020 has been successfully completed. The next
GWC Strategic Plan will be developed in 2021, covering the period of 2022 - 2025.3 It will be aligned with other
relevant strategic documents, such as the WASH Sectors’ Road Map 2020 - 2025, and will take into
consideration the new ways of working due to Covid-19.
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• CAST – Staffing shortage occurred with the exiting GWC Coordinator leaving the post in April 2020 and the
new GWC Coordinator starting in September 2020. This resulted in a heightened workload for a team that was
already under-staffed and coping with the rapid, onset of the Covid-19 crisis.
• Covid-19 - The emergence of Covid-19 placed a major strain on the humanitarian sector, and has impacted
all aspects of the GWC’s work, including strategic priorities, field operations, and country support, information
and knowledge management, advocacy, and resource mobilization. This caused delays in achieving the 2020
GWC work plan and required increased resilience by the CAST due to remote working arrangements.
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• Membership – as part of the elaboration of the next GWC’s Strategic Plan, the structure of the GWC (including
membership categories and types); engagement, responsibilities, and accountabilities of members; and the
functions, roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities of the current GWC entities, including the CAST,SAG and
TWiGs will be reviewed.
• SAG – The new members of the SAG will be elected towards the end of 2021 through an Expression of
Interest, followed by a transparent election process by the GWC membership.
• FST - The CAST will continue to play an active role in the FST Consortium and also work in close collaboration
with the FST Manager in 2021.
• Strategic Priorities - Under the leadership and guidance of the Steering Committee, consisting of
representation from the SAG, partner consortia leadership, and the Inter-Agency WASH Group, and co-chaired
by two partners, the GWC will continue to support the coordination and monitoring of the WASH Sector’s Road
Map 2020 - 2025 and its Implementation Plan. The next GWC’s Strategic Plan 2022 - 2025 and the WASH
Sector’s Road Map 2020 - 2025 will be complementary and aligned.
• Donor Consultative Group – The CAST and SAG will continue to work with the existing Donor Consultative
Group to conduct more frequent meetings to systematically advocate for strategic and operational priorities,
such as the GWC’s Strategic Plan 2022 – 2025 and the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 – 2025, focused on
increased support to humanitarian WASH responses in high priority countries. With the objective to broaden
the donor base in 2021, the CAST will work and engage with the current members to identify new donors,
including the public-private partners and foundations, to expand funding opportunities for the sector at both
global and country levels.
3The five-year cycle of the GWC Strategic Plan is being aligned with the four-year cycle of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. Harmonizing both cycles will
give the CAST more opportunities to mobilize institutional resources within UNICEF (as CLA) and will help ensure coherence between initiatives led
at GWC and UNICEF levels.
4Annual Report 2020 – COVID-19 IMPACTS
3. COVID-19 IMPACTS
The Covid-19 pandemic had a major influence on the operations of the GWC in 2020. The emergence of Covid-19
impacted all aspects of the GWC work plan, including strategic priorities, field operations, and country support,
information and knowledge management, advocacy, and resource mobilization. The Covid-19 travel restrictions resulted
in barriers to the delivery of in-country support by the FST, necessitating increased virtual deployments and remote
support. It has also required the CAST to adapt its work plan, resulting in a shift of priorities to take on an additional
workload to support the global response to Covid-19. The pandemic and its secondary impacts are anticipated to
continue to impact all aspects of the GWC’s work plan in 2021.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) – The CAST and the FST contributed to the articulation of the
GHRP 2020, targeting 250 million people with a funding requirement of US$ 10 billion across 63 countries. In
consultation with 22 national coordination platforms, the GWC and the FST worked to identify critical WASH
inputs for the GHRP. This included a series of recommendations structured around six strategic priorities for
the WASH sector:
o access to high-risk and vulnerable populations;
o securing of WASH markets and supply chain;
o continuity of WASH services and adaptive programming;
o strengthening the coordination with health and other sectors;
o enforcing water as a right; and
o monitoring the impact on WASH services.
• Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) - The CAST and theFST also contributed to the SPRP,
the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Covid-19 response plan, and were aligned with the inputs provided
for the GHRP. In addition, new Coordination and Technical guidance for national WASH humanitarian
platforms aligned with the GHRP and SPRP was developed and launched via a technical webinar on the Covid-
19 response co-hosted by UNICEF and WHO (PPT and recordings).
• Covid-19 Knowledge Management – The CAST created a dedicated webpage for Covid-19 resources and
information sharing on events and activities for agencies responding to Covid-19. The GWC Covid-19 web
page includes contributions from 38 zorganizations and consists of 360 documents thematically organized
across subjects and tags. The GWC’s website saw a four-fold increase in usage from February to April 2020,
with web traffic doubling between 2019 and 2020. Knowledge-sharing and identification of knowledge gaps
were strengthened through the recruitment of a Covid-19 Knowledge Management Specialist and through
collaboration with the Hygiene Promotion TWiG and other initiatives by key WASH partners, such as the Covid-
19 Hygiene Hub.
• Advocacy and Covid-19 - 24 GWC Covid-19 Newsletters (December edition and past issues) were produced
and shared with +1,300 members in the GWC mailing list. The CAST and the FST contributed to the Hand
Hygiene for All Initiative through joint communications and advocacy on country-level roadmaps as well as the
participation in the Hygiene Monitoring sub-working group.
• Covid-19 Secondary Impacts - Recognizing that the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic pose a
significant risk to WASH services, particularly for the most vulnerable populations, the CAST and the FST
conducted monthly price monitoring of three key WASH commodities, water, soap, and bleach, in 23 countries.
This monitoring exercise was completed at the end of 2020, with the compilation of data analysis and
visualization of trends. This was carried out complementary with the multi-sectoral monitoring set up by
UNICEF at the global level, as an early warning system to support countries to adapt WASH strategies, as
needed – and for immediate action to be taken to avoid interruptions in the global supply of WASH commodities
and services.
5Annual Report 2020 – COVID-19 IMPACTS
• Guidance - Development of specific guidance on Covid-19 for NHWCPs are listed below:
o Covid-19 Coordination Response Guidance Note, 1 April 2020
o Covid-19 Technical Response Guidance note, 15 April 2020
o Health Care Facility Survey - french - 16 April 2020
o Covid-19 Assessment Question Bank, 22 April 2020
o Operational Support for HRP/non-HRP Countries in Covid-19, 4 June 2020
o COVID-19 Technical Webinar hosted (11 March 2020) (PPT and recordings)
o HNO Guidance adapted to Covid-19, 17 July 2020
o HRP Costing Methodologies – Webinars (recordings and materials), 11 November 2020
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Field Support – Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, deployment of on-the-ground operational support by the
FST was curtained and significantly impacted the mobility of the team.
• Human Resources - Freezes on recruitment, hiring, and movements impacted the availability of human
resources to support coordination functions in-country offices, only further compounding staffing gaps. This
was coupled with the limitations on the mobility of the FST which resulted in delays in recruitment and
deployment of required resources coordination positions.
• Capacity and Learning - Capacity building and learning initiatives required a significant shift to roll out, with
swift action taken to transform face-to-face learning to online and virtual options.
• Meetings and Events - Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, hosting key meetings such as the 25th GWC Annual
Meeting and Emergency Environmental Health Forum (EEHF) was not possible and postponed to 2021. It
also limited opportunities to host meetings and workshops with key stakeholders (e.g. Field Support Team
Consortium, National Cluster Coordinators, SAG, Donor Consultative Group, etc.).
• Strategic Priorities - The development and implementation of major initiatives were also impacted, as
required modified working arrangements and remote consultations (e.g. the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020
-2025, Water Under Fire Volume 2 Report etc.). This resulted in delays in the timely completion of these key
strategic priorities.
• Operational Plans – The complex nature of multitude of actors and operational plans, such as the GHRP and
SPRP, UN Socio-Economic Plans, and Governmental National Plans impacted the Humanitarian Programme
Cycle (HPC). These processes were launched in parallel with existing Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs)
and created an increased workload for country coordination structures (both in HRP and non-HRP countries).
• Operational Response – There was a lack of clarity in the involvement of the WASH sector in key prevention
and response measures, including Infection Prevention Control (IPC) and Risk Communications and
Community Engagement (RCCE), which are established at the country level with no clear lines of responsibility
or accountability. This is increasingly difficult to define given the multitude of operation plans in place to support
response (i.e. GHRP, SPRP, HRP).
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• Virtual Deployment and Remote Support – The CAST will continue to strive to operationalize and improve
a virtual and remote support framework for countries by the FST, taking into account the context associated
with Covid-19. This includes strengthening virtual and remote operational support and capacity building
through distance-learning and mentoring. Along with an increased focus on reinforcing the need for hygiene
and handwashing as priority preventative measure for Covid-19.
6Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
• Operational Plans and Response – The CAST will continue to provide support to the 2021 Humanitarian
Needs Overview (HNO) and HRP processes. This includes the assessment of affected populations and
estimation of costs and support requirements to define WASH priorities, particularly related to Covid-19. The
impact of coordination structures will be monitored through the collection of best practices and learning to
generate evidence-based recommendations.
• Knowledge Management and Advocacy - A strategic approach for Knowledge Management and Advocacy
for Covid-19 is a key priority to enable direct support to the coordination of field support and operations. There
is a need to strengthen live knowledge exchange and cross-learning across coordination platforms to inform
programming and policy for WASH partners at global and field levels. The strengthening of evidence
generation for sectoral advocacy to promote best practices for humanitarian WASH responses and Covid-19
will be a key area of focus for the GWC.
4. PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020)
IMPLEMENTATION
The progress and challenges for the Strategic Objectives of the GWC’s Strategic Plan 2016 - 2020 achieved in 2020 are
outlined below (see Annex 1).
4.1 Strategic Objective #1 - Support to national humanitarian WASH coordination
platforms
The support to National Humanitarian WASH Coordination Platforms (NHWCPs) has resulted in humanitarian needs
identification and lead to improved operational response planning for the WASH sector, aligned with the HPC, in 30
priority countries. The demand to increase support due to Covid-19 resulted in increasing coordination support to 63
countries by the CAST and FST.
To ensure the effective coordination functions by national platforms, the FST, a nine-person team led by a consortium of
partners including ACF, iMMAP, IMPACT, NCA, Oxfam, and SI worked in close collaboration with the CAST to provide
expertise in coordination, information management, assessments, and preparedness. This was made possible with
funding provided by USAID/BHA, with supplementary support by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (for three FST
members), and in-kind contributions from GWC through the management and coordination of the FST by the CAST’s
Senior WASH Cluster Coordinator (WCC) and Senior Information Management Officer (IMO).
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• FST leadership – The FST consortium successfully transitioned its leadership from NCA to ACF in November.
The handover was completed, and the CAST established a partnership agreement with ACF to co-fund the
FST Manager role in 2021.
• In-Country Deployment – The FST provided 358 days of physical deployment support to four coordination
platforms through five deployments. WASH Coordinators supported by leading the cluster in North-East Syria
(75 days) and North West Syria (42 days). Information Managers supported in North West Syria (42 days),
Burkina Faso to coach national capacity (16 days), and Zimbabwe (183 days). The support in Zimbabwe
established and operated the information management systems addressing multiple emergencies including
drought, the timeframe was increased due to travel restrictions.
• Virtual Deployment 4 - Virtual deployment country support of 602 days was provided to four country
coordination platforms with five virtual deployments. In North-East Syria and North-West Syria, the three
4Deployment or virtual deployment is when the FST is engaged on full functions for cluster coordination or IM tasks, e.g. using the
generic ToR.
7Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
physical deployments were extended as virtual deployments due to travel restrictions to the national platforms
(279 days). In Somalia, a WASH Cluster Coordinator led the cluster (90 days) and in Honduras, the
Assessment Specialist provided post-hurricane support (28 days). In addition, Information Management
support was provided with regional deployments to Latin America (115 days) and the Sahel (90 days), both
supporting multiple countries.
• Remote Support5- Remote support of 1105 days was provided to 42 countries in six regions on 420 specific
tasks (note this data includes global support tasks). The tasks ranged from specialized tasks, such as tool
and strategy development and briefing and document sharing.
• Information Management - With the support of the FST, the CAST developed a new section on the GWC
website to host and share all the essential technical WASH guidance to support the NHWCPs with the
response to Covid-19.
• Assessment - Fourteen countries were remotely supported with assessment tools and/or guidance. This
included the development of a comprehensive WASH Assessment Strategy in Burkina Faso, support for the
national assessment position in the Central African Republic, a tool for healthcare facility assessment in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Secondary Data Review mechanism for Yemen. The HNO and People
in Need (PIN) calculations and reviews for Iraq, Nigeria, Haiti, Sudan, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Palestine, South
Sudan, and Central African Republic (CAR) were also conducted. Following the hurricane Eta and Iota in
Central America, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua were also supported with PiN calculations, secondary
data review, tool development for targeting and prioritization as well as data collection tools.
• Global Support - Six guidance documents for NHWCPs, including WASH Covid-19 technical support and two
documents for coordination guidance to help navigate the multiple response plans from national HRP, GHRP,
and SPRP were produced by the CAST and the FST. The GWC hosted a technical webinar for WASH
responses to Covid-19, with resource people from UNICEF and WHO, for the WASH cluster partners (PPT
and recordings). An additional three technical webinars focused on the HNO and PIN calculations (50
participants) and costing of HRPs (37 participants) were conducted. The development of a Covid-19 resource
library and newsletter and Covid-19 indicators bank was also supported.
• Performance Monitoring – The GWC has a set of different tools to assess the performance of the FST
support and 6+1 core functions delivered by NHWCPs.
o Satisfaction Survey - This is a tool that collects and provides feedback from all NHWCPs regarding
FST support. A total of 122 NHWCPs were contacted, based on 42 responses, and indicated a high
level of satisfaction for both virtual deployments and remote support from the FST.
o Core Function Review – In November 2020, thirty NHWCPs participated in interviews with national
coordinators and IMs, conducted by the FST. The review identified three main weaknesses across
coordination platforms, including staffing of NHWCPs as a critical issue with knock off effects across
the 6+1 core functions of coordination, preparedness, and contingency planning, and Accountability
to Affected Populations (AAPs).
o Cluster Coordination Performance Monitoring (CCPM) - The CCPM survey was conducted with
25 NHWCPs in December 2020 and January 2021. The survey provided feedback to clusters from
their national partners, assessing performance against the 6+1 core functions. The analysis of key
findings and recommendations is underway in 2021.
• Country Profiles - For a second year, the CAST has worked closely with 21 countries and 1 regional
coordination platform to develop their Country Profiles which showcase the situational analysis, response
strategy, successes, and challenges, along with the priorities for 2021 (see Annex 2).
5 Remote support is task based e.g. review of documents, development of tools etc.
8Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Travel Restrictions - Covid-19 travel restrictions imposed by countries and agencies made physical
deployments unfeasible over much of the period. Three FSTs on deployment returned to their home base
and continued to provide remote support on a “virtual deployment” basis for North-West Syria and North-East
Syria. One FST was unable to return home and continued the deployment, in Zimbabwe, for an extended
period.
• Ways of Working - The Covid-19 travel restrictions had multiple other impacts, the FST adjusted ways of
working from in-country deployments to virtual/remote support, establishing a new standard operating
procedure in the process.
• Increased Needs - NHWCPs experienced recruitment freezes and staff turnover, resulting in an increased
need for the FST support and/or increased use of Standby Partner (SBP) mechanisms for deploying
coordination personnel, notably to South Sudan, Somalia, and Zimbabwe.
• Assessment - Covid-19 interrupted the assessment field deployment in the Sahel, the multi-country trip was
cut short after one week. Support continued remotely in Burkina Faso with remote training on KoBo Toolbox
and WASH in healthcare facilities. Field deployments to Mali and Niger had to be completely canceled due to
Covid-19. Remote support was provided but due to the competing priorities due to Covid-19, not all action
points for the deployment could be provided.
• Recurrent Staffing Gaps - The most significant element of coordination is the core staffing of Coordinators
and Information Managers at the country level, in order for a Cluster Lead Agency (CLA) to assume its
responsibility and be accountable. Organizational staffing plans is ad-hoc in the 26 – 28 countries with an
activated clusters, with notable concerns related to a limited number of Fixed Term positions, especially for
IM functions and frequent turn-over of for Temporary Appointments positions. This routinely results in staffing
gaps of 2 to 3 months, which greatly impacts the effective leadership of the cluster and credibility of the CLA
to fulfill its responsibility and be accountable. This trend has resulted in fatigue with key donors, that are
reluctant to support short-term deployments by the FST or SBPs that are the result of staff gaps due to a lack
of planning and/or contractual limitations.
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• FST Support - Continue to provide remote support and deployment support (in-person or virtually) to the
GWC’s priority countries. The support will extend as far as possible to non-priority countries affected by Covid-
19. This included finalizing the Remote Support Framework for the FST, including the tool development for the
HPC calendar, the HR capacity mapping, and contact tools.
• FST Consortium – A participatory review of the operation mechanism of the FST will be conducted to assess
performance, effectiveness and efficiency, and relevance.
• Performance Monitoring - Conduct the 6+1 Core Function review to identify priorities for 2022, along with
the FST Satisfaction Survey for operational support service delivery. The roll-out of the CCPM will also be
prioritized.
• NHWCPs Workshop – The National Cluster Coordinators workshop will take place virtually in March focused
on strategic planning, information exchange, cross-learning, and promoting best practices.
• Covid-19 – An increase focus on inter-cluster coordination and required support for Covid-19 on IPC and
RCCE will be prioritized.
9Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
• Recurrent Staffing Gaps – A position paper will be developed by analyzing NHWCPs staff positions and gaps
to inform the cluster and UNICEF on effective resourcing of the cluster as per the responsibilities and
accountabilities of the CLA. This will be carried out in collaboration with the other cluster and AoR leads.
Figure 1. FST Support to Country Coordination Platforms for 2020- Source: Global WASH Cluster 2020
10Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
4.2 Strategic Objective #2 - Ensure that key WASH stakeholders have the capacity to
coordinate and deliver emergency WASH response
Based on the Learning and Training Strategy developed in 2017, the GWC continues to prioritize the development of
training packages and learning tools for partners. The aim is to strengthen the skills and competencies of local human
resources by providing a range of humanitarian WASH learning opportunities and to empower national
institutions/organizations to engage in delivering appropriate and targeted humanitarian WASH learning. The launch and
consolidation of a strategic partnership with academic institutions is another priority UNICE has focused on. This GWC
approach is fully aligned with the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 - 2025 and focuses on learning opportunities for the
entire WASH sector.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• IHE-Delft/UNICEF Cooperation Framework - The partnership agreement between UNICEF/GWC and IHE
Delft is structured around a cooperation framework that includes four axes: 1) An accredited (20 ECTS)
Graduate Professional Development Programme (GPDP) as part of IHE Delft’s future MSc; 2) Strengthening
localization through new partnerships with learning institutions in the Global South; 3) Knowledge
management and 4) Support from IHE Delft’s experts to GWC TWiG on Faecal Sludge Management. The
first two pillars have been implemented under the leadership of a Steering Committee composed of IHE,
UNICEF, CAST, CDC, ICRC, MSF, Save the Children, Solidarités International, and Oxfam.
• The Graduate Professional Diploma Programme (GPDP) - The GPDP consists of four accredited
modules: Governance in Humanitarian Contexts, Public and Environmental Health in Emergencies, Building
Resilient Systems, and Urban Water and Sanitation in Emergencies. The course will be launched in May
2021, with applications currently open and will be delivered online. A feasibility study was conducted to
assess potential alliances, networks, and models that can be used to up-scale, localize and mainstream the
GPDP to academic and practitioner institutions in the Global south. A series of recommendations identified to
increase the humanitarian WASH courses at the postgraduate level.
• Joint Competency Framework - The Competency Frameworks for Cluster Coordinators and Information
Managers were developed in close collaboration with the Competency Frameworks developed by the other
UNICEF-led clusters. The competencies are arranged around four main groups: sectoral, common, functional,
and behavioural competencies.
• Training Adaptation: Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, all capacity building and learning initiatives required a
significant shift and swift action was taken to transform face-to-face learning to online and virtual options. This
included:
o WASH Operational Coordination training provides operational tools and skills for WASH coordination.
This face-to-face course five-day course was shifted into a two-month distant learning course. The
distance learning course uses a combination of self-directed sessions, webinars, and a virtual group
exercise.
o Information Management training was developed to ensure the quality of the Information
management support at the field level. This is a joint initiative across UNICEF-led clusters and AoRs.
o Assessment training was developed to teach the skills, knowledge, and abilities required to perform
core functions related to assessments.
o Market-Based Programming (MBP) for WASH in Emergencies training provides skills for the use of
markets and cash for the WASH sector. The current face-to-face course five-day course was shifted
into a six-week distant learning program and implemented by Save the Children and ACF.
11Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
● All of the training courses delivered in 2020 are summarized below. A total of 895 individuals engaged in
capacity building and learning opportunities with the GWC this year (see Table 1).
Table 1. GWC Training 2020
Date Topic Host Length Participants Nb
Introduction to Market-Based
March Programming for WASH (FST training CAST 1.5 hr FST team 10
part 1)
Market-Based Programming for WASH
April within the Humanitarian Program Cycle CAST 1.5 hr FST team 10
(FST training part 2)
Webinar on Introduction to Market-
PROWASH / Save
May Based Programming in Emergency 1.5 hr Various 279
the Children / GWC
WASH
Webinar on Introduction to Market-
PROWASH / Save
May Based Programming in Emergency 1.5 hr Various 89
the Children / GWC
WASH (Spanish)
Webinar on Introduction to Market-
PROWASH / Save
May Based Programming in Emergency 1.5 hr Various 131
the Children / GWC
WASH (Francais)
Webinar on Introduction to Market-
PROWASH / Save
June Based Programming in Emergency 1.5 hr Various 99
the Children / GWC
WASH (Arabic)
WASH Operational Coordination 8
June/July UNICEF LACRO NCC 13
training (English) weeks
WASH Operational Coordination 8
June/July UNICEF LACRO NCC 34
training (Spanish) weeks
WASH Operational Coordination 8
June/July UNICEF WACARO NCC 30
training (French) weeks
WASH Operational Coordination 6
June/July UNICEF LACRO Various 30
training (Spanish LIGHT) weeks
La programación basada en mercados
LAC Regional
July dentro del ciclo de programas UNICEF LACRO 2 hr 100
NCC
humanitario - COVID19 Focus
Cameroun
Market-Based Programming for WASH 9
September Save the Children (English 15
in Emergency weeks
speaking)
Market-Based Programming for WASH 9 LAC (English
October Save the Children 15
in Emergency weeks speaking)
Market-Based Programming for WASH 7 WACA (8
November ACF 19
in Emergency training (French) weeks countries)
Market-Based Programming for WASH 9
November Save the Children Somalia 21
in Emergency weeks
Source. Global WASH Cluster (2020)
12Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Training Adaptation - The adaptation of face-to-face training into online training and virtual learning courses
was a complex and costly process. This also requires the availability of training facilitators for a longer period
(six to eight weeks) than with face-to-face training. A lesson exercise was carried out to compile key findings
and recommendations to be incorporated into future online training and virtual learning.
• WASH Bottleneck Analysis Tool - The plan to jointly roll out the WASH Bottleneck Analysis Tool with
UNICEF and SIWI was canceled due to the Covid-19 situation. The aim is to strengthen the capacity of national
governments to better prepare, lead and coordinate the humanitarian WASH response.
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• IHE-Delft/UNICEF Cooperation Framework – The GPDP will be rolled out and the four modules
progressively reviewed on a rolling basis (e.g. in April for the Governance in Humanitarian Contexts and Public
and Environmental Health in Emergencies modules, in May for the module and Building Resilient Systems
module, and in June for the Urban Water and Sanitation in Emergencies module).
• Training Consolidation – The CAST is working with the UNICEF-led clusters on an innovative and
harmonized approach to capacity building and learning for sectoral coordination. This will focus on 1) the
development of a joint learning strategy for identified priorities based on the competency framework for
clusters, covering both core coordination functions and thematic areas; and 2) the development of an inter-
cluster online IM training module incorporating cross-cutting issues and elements for assessment.
• Training Delivery – The consolidation of the key initiatives will include a cost recoverable approach of the
technical training on Market-Based Programming for WASH in Emergencies, and the Epidemiology and Data
Collection Methods for WASH in Emergencies. This will focus on providing training materials to GWC partners
and academic institutions to support in-house training and also self e-learning training packages. The CAST
will roll out training focused on core functions, targeting Cluster Coordinators, Information Management, and
Assessment Specialists.
4.3 Strategic Objective # 3 – Influence and advocate for an effective humanitarian
WASH coordination response and funding
The GWC has provided a strong leadership role in advocating for an effective humanitarian WASH coordination
response and funding. This has focused on coordinating and launching key advocacy documents, such as the Water
Under Fire Volume 2 Report and strategies, such as the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 – 2025. There has been a
strong focus on producing and rolling out key tools and guidance to support NHWCPs, including Covid-19, WASH
Severity Classification (WSC), and Cholera Joint Operational Framework (JOF). The GWC continues to strive to position
the humanitarian WASH sector and effective coordination within the broader context of the humanitarian-development
peace nexus, working closely with key development actors such as SWA and the German WASH Network (GWN).
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 – 2025 – The CAST provided a strong leadership role in coordinating the
publication and launch of the strategic document in February 2020. The development of the Implementation
Plan was completed, based on consultation with over 45 individuals from 25 agencies. It is composed of 17
Summary Sheets elaborated by 17 partner consortia responsible for leading and co-leading the initiatives (see
Annex 3). Eight of the 17 initiatives were ranked as a priority for 2021.
• Water Under Fire Report series - The GWC in collaboration with UNICEF launched the Water Under Fire
Volume 2 Report and co-hosted three advocacy online events under the Water Under Fire initiative. This
included Stockholm World Water Week, the High-level Ministries Roundtable for the Central Sahel, and with
the German WASH Network (see Section 6.2).
13Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
• WASH Severity Classification (WSC) - The GWC, in partnership with UNICEF and REACH, are
spearheading an effort to develop a this innovative methodology.6 It is an operational tool that uses a five-
phase approach to quantify the number of people in need with the ability to classify the severity and drivers of
WASH needs and vulnerabilities. The WSC has been piloted in Afghanistan and Burkina Faso in 2020. An
additional 20 pilots will be rolled out in 20 HRP countries with funding secured from the Executive Director’s
Office from UNICEF. A Feasibility Study will also be carried out to define the future hosting arrangements,
governance structure, and operational model for the WSC (see Section 6.3).
• Positioning of the WASH sector in the Covid-19 response - The CAST developed an advocacy document,
in close coordination with UNICEF and SWA, on the potential secondary impact of Covid-19 in the WASH
sector. The CAST also supported and contributed to global estimations of the total number of people at
immediate risk of Covid-19 infection due to a lack of WASH services and commodities at home, such as hand
hygiene facilities with soap and water.
• Hand Hygiene for All Initiative - The CAST and the FST are continuously involved in advocating for the
WHO/UNICEF co-led initiative, Hand Hygiene for All, focused on supporting the most vulnerable communities
with the means to protect their health and environment. It brings together international partners, national
governments, public and private sectors, and civil society to ensure affordable products and services are
available, to enable a culture of hygiene. The CAST is involved in promoting the initiative at the country level,
through the development of country road maps, is an active member of the Monitoring Working Group and is
also part of the Steering Committee for the Covid-19 Hygiene Hub.
• Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (Triple Nexus) – Aligned with the Grand Bargain commitments
on the Triple Nexus, the CAST has continued to increase inclusion of the humanitarian agenda within the
development WASH sector with SWA. This collaborative partnership, which also includes UNICEF and the
GWN is also included as one of the key initiatives that have been prioritized in the WASH Sector’s Road Map
2020 –2025 Implementation Plan. The focus is to develop a Joint Operational Framework (JOF) that outlines
a harmonized way of working for the humanitarian-development peace nexus for the WASH sectors. This
includes the creation of a shared vision and the formalization of cross-partnership collaboration to
operationalize the Triple Nexus, aimed at ensuring the sustainability of WASH investments, contributing to
strengthening resilience while enabling a more timely, predictable, high-quality WASH response (see Section
6.3).
• Cholera Joint Operational Framework (JOF) 7 - The development of the Cholera JOF aims to improve
preparedness and response in humanitarian contexts and was jointly launched via an online webinar by the
Global Health Cluster (GHC) and GWC with WASH and Health coordination platforms in November 2020. The
framework outlines the considerable integrated tasks that need to be undertaken in the preparedness and
response phases.
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Advocacy - The absence of a GWC Coordinator and the emergence and rapid onset of the spread of Covid-19,
put enormous pressure on the CAST to carry out its work plan. This has also limited the CAST’s ability to advance
advocacy-related work for the WASH sector, which is normally constrained due to staff shortages and a lack of
dedicated human resources.
6 The WSC is the WASH equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system used by the Food Security sector.
7 This is a joint initiative led by the Global Health Cluster (GHC) and the GWC.
14Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 - 2025 – The CAST will support the coordination and monitoring of the
Implementation Plan with the 17 partner consortia and under the leadership and guidance of the Steering
Committee. The CAST will work with the Steering Committee to host a Donors Consultative Group meeting to
support fundraising efforts.
• Water Under Fire Volume 2 Report – The CAST will continue to launch the Water Under Fire Volume 2 Report
at key events and fora. This will be carried out jointly with UNICEF, as part of the overall Water Under Fire brand.
• WASH Severity Classification (WSC) – The CAST will continue to support the roll-out of the WSC with
additional pilots in 20 HRP countries and the Feasibility Study, in collaboration with UNICEF and REACH.
• Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (Triple Nexus) – The CAST will work in close collaboration with
SWA, UNICEF, and GWN to create the shared vision, formalize of cross-partnership collaboration, and
development of a JOF through an interactive workshop with key stakeholders from the WASH sector.
• Inter-cluster/sector collaboration – The GWC will continue to focus on inter-cluster/sector collaboration
focused on the positioning of the WASH sector in public health emergencies and systematic integration across
key response multi-sectors to promote inter-sectoral collaboration (see Section 6.1). In addition, the JOF for
cholera preparedness and response still requires follow up with countries to ensure its implementation. The
CAST is working in close collaboration with the GHC to mainstream this into the broader work on-going with the
Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC), led by WHO and the Country Support Platform (CSP), led by
IFRC.
4.4 Strategic Objective # 4 – Provide humanitarian WASH actors a timely access to
appropriate and accurate knowledge on coordination and response
The GWC continues to put forward our commitment to a strategic approach to Knowledge Management and Advocacy,
to directly support sectoral coordination of field operations. The objective is to strengthen live knowledge exchange and
cross-learning across coordination platforms to inform programming, policy, and advocacy efforts for WASH partners at
global and field levels. By promoting knowledge and best practices in humanitarian WASH responses coordination and
response along with evidence-based advocacy are strengthened.
In 2020, the GWC developed a WASH and Covid-19 Knowledge Management platform, to generate and build further
evidence to support advocacy efforts for the humanitarian WASH sector. This included support to broaden sectoral
partnerships and collaborations, as well as systematically identify Covid-19 WASH-related issues, to be advocated for
and voiced at global and field levels in humanitarian and development fora.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Realtime Assessment of WASH Coordination - In cooperation between Tufts University and the CAST, a
real-time assessment of the effectiveness of cluster WASH coordination in Bangladesh, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Yemen was conducted. The exercise aimed better understanding the overall
value of the WASH Cluster in the humanitarian response and to validate the Theory of Change developed in
2019. In addition, this is linked to the revision of the Minimum Requirements for NHWCPs set-up in 2017. The
reports are currently being finalized and will be published on the GWC website.
• Learning and Evidence on MBP: In consultation with the members of the GWC’s TWiG on MBP, the CAST
supported a study to map and review all studies related to the use of market support or cash and voucher
assistance modalities in WASH and identify evidence on WASH outcomes. The results of this were presented
in five part report series covering: a) Practices in Market-based Programming in the Water Sub-sector; b)
Practices in Market-based Programming in the Sanitation Sub-sector; c) Practices in Market-based
15Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS ON THE GWC STRATEGIC PLAN (2017-2020) IMPLEMENTATION
Programming in the Hygiene Sub-sector; d) Practices related to the use of Multipurpose Cash for WASH
Outcomes, and e) Market-based Programming for WASH Evidence Mapping).
● Knowledge Management and Covid-19 - An internal Knowledge Management Covid-19 process was
developed by the CAST to promote sharing and exchange of new and existing knowledge across WASH
practitioners, national WASH coordination platforms as well as other key partners involved in the Covid-19
response. A dedicated Knowledge Management Working Group, which eventually transformed into the GWC’s
Hygiene Promotion TWiG met regularly to exchange knowledge and share information, identify gaps and
promote learning on WASH and Covid-19. Further partnerships were established with the Covid-19 Hygiene
Hub to ensure access to a rapid expert technical forum and knowledge-exchange on Covid-19 and WASH
responses. Webinars were jointly developed; communication strategies were aligned, and common messages
were articulated to promote the helpdesk as well as raise the profile of hygiene at the country level.
• Covid-19 website - Traffic statistics, including the GWC Covid-19 website, indicate a four-fold increase of
users from January to April 2020 and an overall 100 percent increase of unique visitors per month throughout
the year, with a total of 26,484 user visits. The web page includes key global WASH and Covid-19 resources,
country coordination platform Covid-19 resources, and links to other key platforms for WASH practitioners.
Overall, there was a two-fold increase in traffic on the global website between January and December 2020
(see Figure 2).
o Resource Center – More than 2,700 users visited the Resource Center to search and download
evidence-based technical WASH publications and documents, providing information to support
WASH responses.
o Coordination Toolkit (CTK) – The CTK provides guidance, tools, and field examples related to the
core coordination functions and tasks linked to humanitarian WASH coordination. More than 1,500
users visited the CTK, with a focus on themes such as setting up coordination mechanisms, needs
assessment, core WASH indicators, and information management tools. The information is updated
continuously with support from the FSTs and NHWCPs.
Figure 2. GWC website traffic
Source. Global WASH Cluster (2020)
• Communications – This included the production of bi-monthly Covid-19 newsletters (December edition and past
issues) that were shared with 1,300 plus members via the GWC mailing list. The GWC has also increased its
engagement on social media with campaigns on Twitter. The systematic approach to social media engagement by
the GWC has resulted in growing the GWC “followers” by 30 percent, to 1,350 plus followers, since September
2020 and to gain overall engagement in social media, three-fold in profile visits since February 2020.
16Annual Report 2020 –
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Realtime Assessment of WASH Coordination – Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the planned fieldwork and
travel were canceled and delayed the production of the final reports, as all data collection was shifted virtually.
In addition, this also caused a delay in the roll-out of the review of the Minimum Requirements for WASH
Cluster Coordination.
• Knowledge Management and Covid-19 - The Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing quality response has created
a complex environment with increasing demands for WASH Knowledge Management products and processes.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a considerable increase in the strategies, technical
guidance, training, webinars, and events produced for and by WASH partners and sectoral coordination
platforms. This also has increased requests for access to information and knowledge to the GWC on sectoral
coordination and advocacy for the humanitarian WASH response to Covid-19. The “info-demic” dimensions of
Covid-19, increased the need for improving good practice in knowledge sharing for WASH practitioners, putting
an increased workload on the CAST and the resulted in the need for dedicated human resources to support
this.
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• Realtime Assessment of WASH Coordination – The final report will be available in the early part of 2021
and Tufts will lead on conducting the review of the Minimum Requirements for NHWCPs.
• Knowledge Management and Covid-19 - In 2020, the GWC developed a WASH and Covid-19 Knowledge
Management platform, which requires strengthening to generate and build further evidence to support
advocacy efforts for the broader humanitarian WASH sector. This will be facilitated by a dedicated human
resource with support from SDC to broaden sectoral partnerships, collaborations, and to contribute to the
development of the WASH knowledge management and advocacy component of the new GWC Strategic Plan
2022-2025.
• Online Communications Review - Using analytics and key informant interviews, a review of the current
GWC’s communication practices and Knowledge Management processes will be conducted. This includes the
revision of the GWC website, social media, online communications, and knowledge management processes
(internal and external). In addition, the new look and structure of the GWC website will be launched in early
2021.
• Learning and Evidence on Covid-19 – The CAST will continue to promote cross-learning and increase
sharing of best practices, working in close collaboration with key inter-sectoral initiatives around WASH and
Covid-19 including the recently released Covid-19 Global Risk Communication and Community Engagement
Strategy, Covid-19 Hygiene Hub, the Hand Hygiene for All initiative, the Hygiene Technical Working Group
and other TWiGs. This will also include the development of a joint learning brief on the impact of Covid-19 on
coordination.
5. PROGRESS OF TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS
There are a number of GWC Technical Working Groups (TWiGs) which focus on key areas of operations.
5.1 Cash and Markets
The Cash and Markets TWiG aims to strengthen the understanding of and engagement with market-based approaches,
as well as to explore and build evidence on market-based approaches for the WASH sector. The TWiG has played a
major role over the past four years in mainstreaming market-based approaches into the WASH sector. The TWiG is led
by the German Toilet Organization (GTO).
17Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS OF TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS
TWiG members: ACF (Spain/France), CaLP, CARE, CRS, CVA Consultant, GTO, CAST, ICRC, IFRC, Oxfam, NCA,
NRC, Response International, Save the Children, SI, UK Red Cross, UNICEF, WVI.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Operational Support: The revision of the guidance on MBP for humanitarian WASH practitioners was
launched, with a consultancy hosted by GTO within funding mobilized by the GWN. The CTK page on MBP
was updated and a specific module on MPB was developed as part of the Quality Assurance and Accountability
Initiative focusing on harmonizing and monitoring the quality of MBP interventions in the WASH sector.
• Capacity Building on MBP: The training course on MBP was adapted to an online platform, and rolled out
by key WASH actors, such as ACF, Save the Children, CaLP, and the GWN. This reached 688 WASH
professionals, with training provided in English, French, and Spanish (see Section 4.2). The training course
remains in high demand, and Bioforce has expressed interest to integrate the training as part of their academic
curriculum.
• Knowledge Management: The review of lessons learned on Cash and MBP for the WASH sector was
completed and the online GWC Resource Center repository has been updated with new documents(see
Section 4.2)
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Covid-19 - Uncertainties related to funding and delays in the implementation of activities in the TWiG work
plan occurred.
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• Priority Setting - In early 2021, the TWiG members will carry out a mapping exercise to identify the priorities
for the group, taking into consideration the financial constraints. It is anticipated that Operational Support and
Capacity Building will remain the areas of highest priority.
• Capacity Building on MBP – The delivery of two additional training will be rolled out by Save the Children in
Yemen and Iraq. In addition, the CAST will work with key partners, like PROWASH to support a series of
technical webinars on MBP for the WASH sector.
• Knowledge Management on MBP - The second edition of the Guidance Note on MPB will be carried out.
The summary report on the evidence generated on MBP in the WASH sector will be translated and be available
in French, Spanish and Arabic. These documents will be published on the GWC website.
5.2 Quality of Response
The TWiG focuses on the Quality Assurance and Accountability Initiative (QAAI), which is a key axis in the WASH
Sector’s Road Map 2020 - 2025. To achieve the goal of widespread roll out and uptake of QAAI as part of humanitarian
WASH responses globally is an ambitious target and requires the engagement and buy-in of a broad range of WASH
stakeholders. The TWiG is led by Oxfam and SI.
TWiG members: International Medical Corps (IMC), NCA, Oxfam GB, Relief International, Selected WCC, SI, UNHCR,
UNICEF, and World Vision International (WVI).
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Governance and Engagement - The governance structure for the TWiG was revised to further strengthen
the engagement by the members. This resulted in the active engagement of the TWiG members in the
development of key technical documents, tools, guidance, and the modular analytical framework, along with
the Summary Sheet for the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 -2025 and its Implementation Plan.
18Annual Report 2020 – PROGRESS OF TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS
• QAAI Resources – The following key outputs were finalized and released publicly, including the desk review,
QAAI Guidance Note, and Modular Analytical Framework. In addition, technical engagement from the SEEP
Network was established and supported the development of the Market Based Programming module. The
core monitoring modules, modules for WASH in Health Care Facilities, RCCE, and MBP. The Cluster
Strategic Operational Framework (SOF) was also finalized.
• Country Support – The selection of an additional six countries to conduct pilots was finalized, including
Afghanistan, CAR, Haiti, Mali, Ecuador, and Venezuela and complement the pilots carried out in 2019 in
Bangladesh (Cox’s Bazaar) Myanmar, South Sudan, and Colombia. Six introductory webinars were held in
July for HNWCPs and were followed by bilateral meetings with all ten countries. Remote support was
provided including the development of tools, contextualized guidance, frameworks, review of cluster
documents (e.g. HRP, 3/4/5W’s, monitoring tools, etc.), and training.
• Communications and Dissemination – The Communication and Dissemination Plan was updated in July,
to increase awareness and engagement with the QAAI with the broader WASH sector. This also including
convening webinars with key stakeholders, such as the UNICEF WASH in Emergency group, the GWC SAG,
and the FST. An external article was published in Baromètre 2020 De L’eau de L’hygiène & De
L’assainissement in March 2020.
MAIN CONSTRAINTS
• Covid-19 - The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted plans for dissemination through presentations
at global meetings, workshops, and face-to-face training, as well as limiting the ability to provide in-country
support to NHWCPs. Given the global travel restrictions, no country visits nor pilots were carried out. Instead,
bilateral discussions with the Cluster Coordinators and meetings with the wider cluster group were held in
pilot countries to present the approach and define support priorities.
• Country Uptake – The recurrent staffing gaps and turnover of staff in key national cluster positions limited
the capacity of the NHWCPs to uptake the QAAI. It is important that the QAA1 approach is mainstreamed
into existing workflows at the national level and built into the cluster’s Terms of Reference (ToR) to ensure
proper uptake and roll-out. The engagement of NHWCPs is critical to ensure that that best practices, based
on the experience from the field are properly mainstreamed into the QAAI key documents and guidance.
PRIORITIES FOR 2021
• Priority Setting - In early 2021, the TWiG will consolidate all key guidance and resources, and define future
priorities based upon this stocktaking exercise, taking into consideration the financial constraints currently
limiting the further development and roll-out of the QAAI. This will include how best to mainstream QAAI with
the FST and NHWCPs, with the potential for a dedicated resource for the GWC focused on People-Centred
Programming.
5.3 Operational Research
The aim of the Operational Research TWiG is to support and strengthen the sector with regards to addressing issues
linked with the evidence base and WASH. While the TWiG has not been operational in 2020, it is important to note that
this group has been revitalized as part of one of the WASH Sector’s Road Map 2020 – 2025 initiative, known as 1.5
Research and Innovation and is led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Tufts
University and. As such, this group has been deactivated and is no longer considered part of the list of GWC’s TWiGs.
Previous TWiG members: CDC, Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELHRA), IFRC, IMC,
iMMAP, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)-Belgium, NCA, Oxfam GB, SI, Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC), Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology and Swiss Federal Institute of Science
and Technology (Eawag/Sandec), Tufts University, UNHCR, and UNICEF.
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