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7th edition march 2021
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF GILLES COLLARD | MAMADOU DIA
EDITH GUIOCHON | EMMETT KEARNEY | NATHALIE KLEIN | JEAN LAUNAY
FRÉDÉRIC MAUREL | GÉRARD PAYEN | RENAUD PIARROUX
KEVIN GOLDBERG, ANTOINE PEIGNEY, SONIA RAHAL & ALAIN BOINET
AND THE SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL'S TEAMS
A KEY PLAYER IN THE FIGHT
FOR WATER SINCE 1980
2021 WATER,
SANITATION
AND HYGIENE
BAROMETER
WATER INVENTORY OF
ACCESS TO A VITAL
RESOURCE
AGAINST
CHALLENGES
&
SOLUTIONS
EPIDEMICS
EDITORIAL CONTENTS
MAKING DAKAR
THE FORUM FOR A KEY PLAYER IN THE FIGHT 4 22 34
CONCRETE RESPONSES
FOR WATER SINCE 1980
WATER & HEALTH CHALLENGES AHEAD SOLUTIONS & INNOVATIONS
2021 WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
BAROMETER, 7th ISSUE 5 Water & Health: 23 The global pandemic one year on: 35 Staying focused on quality
INVENTORY OF ACCESS TO A VITAL
time to leap into action! time for solutions amidst growing uncertainty
RESOURCE, CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
At this time next year, we will be in Dakar for the 9th World Water Forum (WWF). Alain Boinet and Antoine Peigney (SI) Thierry Benlahsen (SI) Anne-Lise Lavaur (SI)
A SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL publication
This edition, devoted to water security, has 4 priorities: access to water and sanitation, Managing editor Kevin Goldberg Water is life! Innovating to keep access open
Water access:
cooperation, rural development, and means and tools. The 17 Sustainable Development Nadjilem Mayade (SI) Francis Tehoua (SI)
Head of communication Guillaume Cotillard a crucial issue in the Sahel
Goals (SDGs) will be at the centre of discussions, among them Goal 6: access to water Editor-in-chief Chloé Demoulin Sonia Rahal (SI) 24 The challenges 36 Epidemiological surveillance:
and sanitation for all by 2030—and that includes populations of countries in crisis. Editorial staff Alberto Acquistapace, of situation analysis digitalization brings progress
Thierry Benlahsen, Alain Boinet, Sophie Bonnet, 6 Water in figures
Lucile Chabot, Patricia David, Chloé Demoulin,
Patrice Chataigner (Okular-Analytics) Bachir Assao and Arthur Makadi
A lot is at stake, as this also involves safeguarding water against skyrocketing Kevin Goldberg, Lise Lacan, Xavier Lauth, (Epicentre)
Anne-Lise Lavaur, Aude Lazzarini, 8 SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL's 25 “Water is at the confluence
consumption, a variety of pollutants, the impact of global warming, growing water of enormous environmental 37 More qualified WASH actors
Baptiste Lecuyot, Emmanuelle Maisonnave, 2020-2025 WASH strategy
scarcity and the consequences of Covid-19. Brian Malapel, Nadjilem Mayade, Julie Mayans, Aude Lazzarini and social challenges” to meet water challenges
Anaïs Momoli, Justine Muzik Piquemal, Frédéric Maurel (AFD) Gilles Collard (Bioforce)
and Baptiste Lecuyot (SI)
Yann Pastel, Antoine Peigney, Sonia Rahal,
The numbers are telling: 25% of the global population is threatened by rising water Jéromine Regnier, Francis Tehoua,
9 Delivering WASH at scale, 26 Cholera in Yemen: 38 Malnutrition: integrated WASH
Allassane Traoré, Madeleine Trentesaux
stress; 80% of wastewater in developing countries is released into the environment anywhere and at any time fragile situation calls and food security responses
and SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL's teams
untreated; millions of human beings are dying of diseases contracted from unsafe water; in Mali and Myanmar Cluster Advocacy and Support Team for long-term support Lise Lacan and Julie Mayans (SI)
29% of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water and 55% to sanitation! (CAST), Global WASH Cluster Sabit Ababor Ababulgu,
Contributors Sabit Ababor Ababulgu,
Al Hattami Abdulraheem, Bachir Assao, Abdulraheem Al Hattami,
39 Mali: an integrated WASH
Jean-Bosco Bazie, Patrice Chataigner, 10 Will collective inefficiency Nosheen Mohsan
and Nutrition response
The Dakar Forum has pledged to be the WWF of concrete responses. Now it must Gilles Collard, Mamadou Dia, Global WASH be over in March 2023? for the most vulnerable
and Mikiko Senga (OMS)
follow through on that pledge. Even though the Forum is a global event, it must prioritize
Cluster Advocacy and Support Team (CAST), Gérard Payen Mali mission (SI)
Édith Guiochon, Abdoulaye Hamidou,
27 Putting affected populations back
Africa, the world's poorest continent—especially its most fragile countries, including the Emmett Kearney, Nathalie Klein, Jean Launay, 12 SPECIAL REPORT at the heart of humanitarian action
40 Adapting to Covid-19:
Arthur Makadi, Frédéric Maurel, taking our action further
Sahel region. Nosheen Mohsan, Gérard Payen,
Fighting epidemics Lise Lacan
to meet urgent needs
Renaud Piarroux, Mikiko Senga
13 Covid-19 pandemic: and Madeleine Trentesaux (SI)
Xavier Lauth (SI)
The first Forum to be held in sub-Saharan Africa can and must be a mobilizing force. Photos Clotilde Bertet, Gwenn Dubourthoumieu, rapidly adapting response 28 SPECIAL REPORT
We thus solemnly call upon the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, and the President
Vincent Tremeau – SOLIDARITÉS
INTERNATIONAL, Veolia Foundation
strategies to an unprecedented World Water Forum
41 Strengthening drinking water
crisis service resilience in Burkina Faso
of the World Water Council, Loïc Fauchon, to drive all efforts towards this goal. Cover Gwenn Dubourthoumieu
Sophie Bonnet (SI)
29 Multi-stakeholder partnerships Direction of operations
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL will actively do its part alongside fellow participants. Graphic design and illustration
for concrete responses in Burkina Faso (SI)
F. Javelaud
14 Cholera in Haiti Mamadou Dia (AquaFed)
Because it is clear that we are not on track to achieve universal access to water
Printing COPYMAGE and Covid-19 in Paris: 42Lebanon: innovative WASH solutions
English translation Jenny Fowler, not so dissimilar after all!
30 “Access to water must be for Syrian refugees
and sanitation in 10 years. And that is why we need to pick up the pace and broaden Christine Gutman declared a global emergency” Yann Pastel (SI)
Renaud Piarroux
the scope of our actions. Thank you to the Global WASH Cluster Jean-Bosco Bazie
Advocacy and Support Team (CAST)
16 Cross-border cholera epidemics (Eau Vive Internationale)
44 Sanitation innovations
for permission to reproduce the "Vision, in the Lake Chad Basin in Myanmar
The SDGs represent a remarkable mechanism for human progress. The Dakar Forum axes and pillars to deliver humanitarian WASH
31 “Initiative Dakar 2021”: Myanmar mission (SI)
at scale, anywhere and any time" illustration.
Allassane Traoré (SI)
must rally us around these goals while also paving the way to the UN Water Action an innovative approach to water
17 Lessons learned from and sanitation challenges
46 Water is a right!
Decade conference in March 2023, which should finally give us a political tool
fighting Ebola in DRC A look back at an active year
for managing and tracking progress. at the global level
Justine Muzik Piquemal (SI) Édith Guiochon (Coalition Eau)
Allassane Traoré (SI)
and Brian Malapel (SI)
32 Water access for all: staying
47 Oudin-Santini law - An appeal
19 Displaced persons: mobilized in the current context
to French communities
By ALAIN BOINET, a shameful milestone from SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
Jean Launay
FOUNDER OF SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL Emmett Kearney (UNHCR) (French Water Partnership)
20 Exploring the potential of combining
cash transfers, market-based
programs and WASH in West THE SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL WATER AGENDA
By KEVIN GOLDBERG, and Central Africa Every year on March 22nd, World Water Day, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL campaigns
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL Nathalie Klein (CALP) against the devastating consequences of unsafe drinking water, a leading cause
and Abdoulaye Hamidou (CALP)
of mortality worldwide. That is why, this year, we are publishing the 7th issue of the Water,
21 WASH responses and protection: Sanitation and Hygiene Barometer internationally.
where do we stand? With this 7th issue, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL also aims to alert public opinion and spur
Jéromine Regnier (SI)
decision-makers into action to ensure a successful 9th World Water Forum. The event, to be
held in Dakar in March 2022 and at which we will be active participants, must drive us towards
achieving Goal 6 of the 2030 SDGs: universal access to clean water and sanitation worldwide.
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is a member of the French Water Partnership (FWP) and
Gaining access and providing emergency assistance to those affected by armed conflicts, natural disasters and epidemics, followed by early Coalition Eau. In 2016, we took part in Marrakesh COP22 on the urgent issue of water
recovery assistance, has been the defining commitment of the humanitarian NGO SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL for 40 years. Access to Water, in the Sahel and attended the 8th World Water Forum in Brasilia in 2018.
Sanitation and Hygiene is the focus of our teams’ expertise and actions in the field. Currently present in some twenty countries, they provide In France, we work with the Ministry of Europe and of Foreign Affairs and French water
vital humanitarian aid to more than 4.5 million people, solely on the basis of their needs, respecting their dignity, and without judging or taking sides. stakeholders. Abroad, we work with the European Commission, United Nations agencies
solidarites.org and the WASH Cluster (UNICEF), of which we are an active member.
WATER & HEALTH
WATER & HEALTH: Notes from the field
TIME TO LEAP INTO ACTION!
By ALAIN BOINET,
WATER
FOUNDER OF SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
and ANTOINE PEIGNEY,
CHAIRMAN OF SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
ACCESS:
A CRUCIAL
W ater and health experts consult one another all too rarely.
This despite the fact that waterborne diseases contracted
from unsafe drinking water kill 2.6 million human beings each year!
These diseases are well known: cholera, diarrhea, typhoid fever, hepatitis
ISSUE IN
THE SAHEL
A, bilharzia, polio, etc.
By SONIA RAHAL,
DAKAR OFFICE,
Unsafe drinking water is a major cause of mortality and, as such, it is a SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
humanitarian emergency—particularly in the poorest countries where
S
populations are beset by conflicts and natural disasters.
Water and health constitute two of the main priorities of the UN’s 2030 ome 24 million people in the Sahel are in
Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals (SDGs). Goal 6 need of humanitarian relief. Amidst an
seeks to achieve universal access to drinking water and sanitation in 10 unprecedented crisis combining conflicts, persistent
years. population movements and structural vulnerabilities,
access to water is becoming more and more of
Although progress has been made, the official figures show we still have a challenge. A rare commodity as it is, water has
a long way to go (see pp. 6-7 of our Barometer). As it stands, 29% of the become particularly scarce in areas cut off by
global population lacks access to drinking water and 55% to sanitation. prolonged crises. In Burkina Faso, overtaxed water
infrastructures cannot cover the needs of both host
Likewise, 1.4 billion people lack access to sanitary facilities equipped and displaced populations. In Niger, over half of
with water and soap, and 3 billion are still unable to wash their hands people living in rural areas lack access to drinking
at home. Moreover, 80% of the world's wastewater is released into the water and 70% of the population practices open
environment untreated. defecation. In Chad, a mere 43% of the population
has access to drinking water and 10% to sanitation.
Nearly 1 in 4 health centres worldwide lacks access to drinking water.
1 in 10 lacks access to sanitation services. And the situation is far worse The absence of clean drinking water forces
in the 47 least-developed countries, where 1 in 2 health centres lacks populations to consume unsafe water, heightening
WATER
drinking water and 3 in 5 lack sanitation. their risk of contracting waterborne diseases like
cholera, which is endemic in several areas. This, in
As of 2019, a mere 30% of schools worldwide were equipped to provide turn, exacerbates nutritional deficiencies among
pupils with safe drinking water. the most vulnerable populations, as over half of
malnutrition cases are linked to waterborne diseases.
& HEALTH
We need to act now: unsafe drinking water doesn't just kill; it also stifles A lack of access to water also generates inequalities:
development. in rural areas, for example, the task of fetching
water mainly falls to women and children. And open
And we need to act on two fronts simultaneously: 1 – delivering defecation and non-segregated latrines heighten
humanitarian and development assistance to vulnerable populations, the risk of gender-based violence. Finally, tensions
and 2 – lobbying institutions to ensure that policies get enacted and between farmers and breeders over water points
critical resources mobilized. feed into intercommunal conflicts, posing a threat to
stability and social cohesion.
We need to pick up the pace and seek out new tools if we are to achieve
More than one year on, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as per the Access to drinking water, sanitation and good
the world, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL takes stock of the current state unanimous commitment made by 195 states at the UN in 2015. hygiene practices is thus crucial to the health, the
of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services as well development and, indeed, the human rights of these
as the ongoing efforts to fight epidemics worldwide. Our findings are populations.
alarming: until everyone has safe, sustainable access to drinking water
—including during crisis situations and above all in the Sahel region—
there can be no significant improvements to public health.
2021 WATER BAROMETER 2021 WATER BAROMETER
7th edition march 2021
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WATER & HEALTH
2.6 MILLION PEOPLE CRISIS IN THE SAHEL
DIE EVERY YEAR WATER & HEALTH
In sub-Saharan Africa, 135 million
DUE TO WATER-RELATED INADEQUATE ACCESS
people—twice as many as in 2000—have limited
access to water and sanitation, and
DISEASES
TO WATER AND HANDWASHING… in 71% of households, water fetching
falls to women and girls (leading them to miss
1 in 2 health facilities
AND UNSANITARY
school and hindering their access to employment).
in the world’s 47 least-developed countries Source: WHO/UNICEF, JMP 2020
LIVING CONDITIONS
lacks water supply services, exposing medical staff
and patients to a higher risk of Covid-19 infection. NON-EXISTENT WATER ACCESS
Source: WHO/UNICEF, State of the World’s Sanitation, 2020 IN SCHOOLS
1 in 3 health facilities
% of schools that still lack water supply services
worldwide is not equipped to ensure
hand hygiene in treatment wards.
ACCESS TO WATER Source: WHO/UNICEF, State of the World’s Sanitation, 2020
& SANITATION A LACK Niger 81%
Chad 63%
A mere 30% of schools
OF WATER: worldwide were equipped to provide
2.2 billion people, DEADLIER safe drinking water in 2019.
Burkina Faso 41%
or 29% of the world population,
do not have access to safely managed THAN WAR Source: WHO/UNICEF, Progress on drinking water, sanitation
and hygiene in schools: special focus on COVID-19, 2020
domestic drinking water supply services.
Children under A mere 60% of the global population Nigeria 37%
4.2 billion people, the age of 5 living has the means to wash their hands with soap
or 55% of the world population, in war-torn countries and water at home. Cameroon 36%
do not have access to safely managed are on average Source: UN, The Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2020
sanitation services. 20 times more likely
to die of a diarrhoeal
673 million people, disease linked to …A VECTOR OF MORTALITY Source: WHO/UNICEF, JMP 2020
or 8.92% of the world population, a lack of clean water, AND UNDERNUTRITION
defecate out in the open. sanitation and hygiene than
as a result of war-related violence. 842,000 people die
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) (In 16 countries affected by every year from diarrhoea
for Water Supply and Sanitation
conflict between 2014 and 2016). due to inadequate sanitation.
Source: WHO, UNICEF, Water Under Fire, 2019
297,000 children under the age of 5 CLIMATE CHANGE
die every year from diarrhoea
because they have consumed unsafe water
or due to a lack of sanitation services 99% of all natural hazards
or inadequate hand hygiene. are water-related.
Their frequency and intensity are increasing.
50% of cases of child undernutrition Source: UN WATER
FUNDING IS DOWN AMIDST are due to recurrent diarrhoea and intestinal
infections caused by unsafe drinking water, 4 billion people,
THE COVID-19 CRISIS inadequate sanitation and lack of hygiene. or two-thirds of the global population,
are affected by severe water shortages for at least
Source: WHO 1 month of the year, mainly due to drought.
As the Covid-19 epidemic spread throughout Source: Science Advances
the world in 2020, funding commitments
for water and sanitation dropped by 26.3% 500 million people
(to 2.56 billion euros) compared to the same period in 2019 are affected by severe water shortages all year round.
(3.46 billion euros). (In the first seven months of 2020). Source: Science Advances
Source: Development Initiatives
Around one-quarter of the global
population, in 17 countries, is currently
experiencing acute water stress.
Source: World Resources Institute
2021 WATER BAROMETER 2021 WATER BAROMETER
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WATER & HEALTH
SOLIDARITÉS By Aude Lazzarini and Baptiste Lecuyot,
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL DELIVERING WASH AT SCALE,
INTERNATIONAL'S ANYWHERE By the Cluster Advocacy and Support Team
(CAST), GLOBAL WASH CLUSTER
2020-2025 WASH STRATEGY AND AT ANY TIME
In 2020, SOLIDARITÉS which often has neither the expertise nor WATER UNDER FIRE…
INTERNATIONAL adopted 2 ENHANCING the resources to address the negative
a 5-year Water, Sanitation, THE QUALITY OF impacts of its actions on the environment. In 2019, the number of people receiving humanitarian assistance quality and accountable responses, rooted in preparedness and
and Hygiene (WASH) strategy, WASH PROGRAMS It is true that effective treatment systems worldwide reached an all-time high, with the Water1 , Sanitation resilience across the continuum/contiguum of the humanitarian-
thus reaffirming its commitment DURING THE SHOCK are expensive and difficult to install. and Hygiene (WASH) sector at the core of the response to development nexus.
to provide appropriate, qualitative, ABSORPTION PHASE Designing, scaling and operating them emergencies. Yet WASH responses all too often fail to meet
high-impact humanitarian responses requires expertise, studies and training. defined humanitarian or sectoral standards owing to a lack of
that focus on the health, dignity During this initial emergency response The question is therefore: how can we capacity, preparedness and funding. These shortcomings result
1 Water under Fire, UNICEF, 2019
and well-being of vulnerable, phase, the objective is to give due quickly and effectively carry out activities in services and assistance that are not fully accountable and do www.unicef.org/media/51286/file/Water-under-fire-2019-eng .pdf
crisis-affected populations. consideration to the “do no harm” principle, that have a completely different timescale not adequately address the priority needs and expectations of 2 Water Under Fire Volume 2, Strengthening sector capacity for a predictable,
quality humanitarian response, UNICEF, 2020
by systematically: (i) implementing from emergency programs, and how can the population in question. Now is the time to accelerate action
S
www.unicef.org/reports/strengthening-sector-capacity-for-quality-humanitarian-
measures to protect the affected this be done in degraded contexts? to enhance the capacity of the WASH sector2 to provide high- response-2020
populations from any form of violence or
OLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s violation of their well-being and dignity, (ii) 3 STRENGTHENING
2020-2025 WASH strategy containing health risks as much as possible PUBLIC WASH
is aligned with the global Sustainable and (iii) minimizing negative environmental SERVICES IN
Development Goals (SDGs) and aims to impacts. DEGRADED CONTEXTS TOWARDS A SECTORAL SOLUTION: WASH SECTOR ROADMAP 2020-2025
achieve SDG 3 (health and well-being) and
SDG 6 (universal access to drinking water Regarding the latter, one of SOLIDARITÉS This involves capacity building and Through strengthened collective commitments and
and sanitation) in degraded contexts by INTERNATIONAL’s main priorities over technical support for local authorities, strategic engagement by all WASH sector stakeholders,
2030. This sector-specific strategy focuses the coming period will be to improve the to help them maintain and/or strengthen the implementation of the Road Map 2020-2025 will roll out
on 3 priority areas, in which SOLIDARITÉS management and preservation of water essential public WASH services in innovative approaches to save lives, achieve better public
INTERNATIONAL aims to improve its resources. For example, the objective deteriorating contexts or areas affected and environmental health outcomes and build synergies
practices, develop its expertise and is to set up integrated monitoring and by chronic crises, where these services between the responses to acute and complex emergencies,
innovations, promote knowledge-sharing better coordination of water resource are under increased pressure due to a humanitarian crises and long-term development.
within the sector and voice the needs of usage, right from the initial phases of massive influx of displaced persons or
affected populations. intervention. When this is not done, it can a disease outbreak. In these contexts, This will be achieved through three strategic axes and three
lead to overexploitation of groundwater integrated water resources management prerequisite pillars that integrate and mainstream the core
1 STEPPING UP resources, as has been observed in the is also crucial. Best practices must be principles of humanitarian assistance (see Vision diagram, left).
THE FIGHT AGAINST Borno region (Nigeria). When the main systematically implemented to ensure
EPIDEMICS groundwater reserve was used to meet that infrastructure performs as efficiently Partners within the sector have defined seventeen strategic
high demand for water due to the massive as possible, and that water resources initiatives to implement the Road Map 2020-2025. These initiatives
This commitment involves strengthening influx of displaced persons, its static level are used rationally to prevent represent a total cost of USD 15.5 million over 5 years.
interdisciplinary coordination and fell significantly. Due to lack of monitoring overexploitation, all with a view to the
increasing the number of joint actions and and measurements of groundwater usage, area’s future recovery and to reduce The roadmap was developed by the Cluster Advocacy
initiatives between the WASH and Health field workers were unable to react in time the impacts of climate change. and Support Team (CAST) of the Global WASH Cluster (GWC),
sectors. This includes consolidating local before it reached a critical level. with input and support from the Cluster’s partners and
epidemiological surveillance systems in collaboration with the WASH Inter-agency Group: Action
(including community and environmental Sanitation presents other challenges. contre la Faim (ACF), International Committee of the Red Cross
surveillance programs), improving Humanitarian activities tend to concentrate (ICRC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
the predictability of epidemics and on building latrines—to contain health Societies (IFRC), International Organization for Migration (IOM),
the efficiency of rapid responses, and risks by collecting and storing faeces on Oxfam GB, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Norwegian Church
strengthening drinking water, sanitation site—but “overlook” the next stages in Aid (NCA), RedR UK, Save the Children UK (SCUK), Solidarités
and hygiene services in healthcare the process: emptying, transporting and International (SI), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
facilities and urban “hotspots” where treating sludge. These tasks are generally Vision, axes and pillars to deliver humanitarian WASH at scale, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Welthungerhilfe
anywhere and any time
endemic diseases prevail. carried out by the informal private sector, (WHH). GWC CAST wishes to thank the WASH partners
who contributed to this strategy for their efforts.
FULL VERSION OF THE GLOBAL WASH CLUSTER
ROADMAP 2020-2025:
YOU CAN CONSULT SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’S 2020-2025 WASH STRATEGY HERE: WASHCLUSTER.NET/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/INLINE-FILES/
BIT.LY/2ZMF8GA ROADMAP_2020-2025_AT_A_GLANCE.PDF
2021 WATER BAROMETER 2021 WATER BAROMETER
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WATER & HEALTH
Forum (2012) and the Budapest Summit short, a complete vision on water issues the treatment and reuse of wastewater.
(2013) led to the adoption of a specific was born. Twenty SDG targets are directly However, since 2005, the only significant
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on related to water. That’s great news! But UN resolutions on water have been the
water in 2015. unfortunately, nothing much has changed inception of the International Year of
since 2015 in intergovernmental circles. Sanitation (2008), the recognition of the
In March 2023, the United Nations will It is as if the silos of the past have taken human right to safe drinking water and
hold an International Water Conference. over again. In 2018, at the UN High- sanitation (2010) and the adoption of the
It will be jointly presided by Tajikistan and level Political Forum on Sustainable SDGs (2015).
the Netherlands, and will be attended Development (HLPF), governments
by all governments. This will be a major discussed water for three hours but took The 2023 UN Conference will therefore
event since only UN summits can give no new decisions. Worse still, during be one of the very rare events where
rise to global political decisions that their first SDG Summit in October 2019, decisions can be taken on all water
countries consider binding and that they boasted about their progress on issues. It will be an opportunity to make
benefit from long-term operational access to safe drinking water, in stark intergovernmental work on water more
monitoring. The many intergovernmental contrast with global statistics predicting effective, by deciding to organize an
meetings held in parallel to UN efforts that the 2030 target for universal access annual UN intergovernmental meeting
may yield useful conclusions, but in to drinking water will not be reached on all water-related SDG targets, as is
the absence of institutional follow-up until the 23rd century at the pace of the case for the other SDG key topics.
mechanisms, these findings generally do progress resulting from current policies. This would ensure political coherence
not progress very far. Within the United Since 2015, no intergovernmental work between the many disparate existing
Nations, most of the meetings devoted has been done to acknowledge and efforts and enable the organization of
to water are organized by UN agencies rectify the insufficient progress towards efforts to achieve SDG 6 and all the
or Secretariats for international treaties water-related SDG targets. This lack of global water-related goals. A decision
that specialize in a particular field, activity on all water issues stems directly of this kind cannot be taken in 2023
only covering certain water issues. An from the fact that there is no specific without active preparation and sufficient
international conference on all freshwater UN political forum for water. Unlike anticipation. This will be one of the main
issues (all types of water as well as the majority of SDG key topics, which issues at stake during the 9th World
sanitation) is therefore a very rare event each have their own intergovernmental Water Forum that will take place in Dakar
at the UN. Water issues are multiplying platform with regular political meetings, in 2022.
and becoming increasingly interrelated water is not so fortunate and, politically
with every passing year. They underpin speaking, has been left behind. There Will the 2023 Conference take the
the vast majority of SDGs, making the is a dire need for collective coherence decision to institute regular UN political
2023 conference a very rare opportunity and efficiency, but this is very seldom meetings on all water-related SDG
to take useful collective decisions to discussed since many institutional targets? If so, the conference will be quite
WILL COLLECTIVE INEFFICIENCY improve global organization on water
issues.
stakeholders, countries and UN agencies
see more interest in maintaining the
historic. But if we miss this opportunity,
the international water community will
BE OVER
status quo. only have itself to blame for remaining
By GÉRARD PAYEN, FORMER WATER ADVISOR
TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL THE SDGS: collectively inefficient, for the lack of
AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH WATER A COHERENT VISION A UN POLITICAL political attention paid to water and for
IN MARCH 2023? PARTNERSHIP AND ASTEE
In 2015, a revolution took place. The
adoption of the SDGs was the first time
SUMMIT ON WATER
IS MUCH TOO RARE
AN EVENT
the slow progress towards water-related
SDG targets.
G
that governments had taken all the
major water issues into consideration Some say that the 2023 UN Water
In March 2023, the United Nations overnments discuss freshwater ensure technical coordination, but the within a global program. Prior to Conference will be the first since the
is due to hold a “rare” conference at such a large number of political coordination of various water- that, collective goals only existed for Mar-del-Plata conference in 1977. This
on water. Gérard Payen urges international events that their work is now related activities remains to be defined. drinking water and access to toilets. In shows very little regard for the UN
the international community fragmented, scattered across disparate All these events are nonetheless useful 2015, this very patchy perspective was Sustainable Development Commission
to overcome its inertia and make events, with no guiding principles and forums for developing knowledge and filled out with supplementary targets meeting in 2005, which brought together
this summit a historic event, very little coordination. This results preparing future decisions. For example, for water resources management, all the world’s governments for two
during which important political in confusion for the governments the World Water Forums in Mexico (2006) pollution and wastewater management, weeks and resulted in a nine-page UN
decisions will be taken and themselves, as well as for most other and Istanbul (2009) paved the way for the water ecosystems, flooding, public resolution on integrated water resources
an annual agenda will be set stakeholders in the international human right to safe drinking water to be participation, water in schools, adaptation management, ecosystem preservation,
to achieve Goal 6 of the 2030 SDGs. community. UN-Water does its best to recognized in 2010, while the Marseille to climate change, urban planning, etc. In drinking water and sanitation, including
2021 WATER BAROMETER 2021 WATER BAROMETER
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WATER & HEALTH
COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
RAPIDLY ADAPTING RESPONSE STRATEGIES TO AN
UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS ADVISOR
By SOPHIE BONNET, PUBLIC HEALTH TECHNICAL
FOR SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
Over a year after Covid-19 started to spread throughout the world, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
takes stock of the pandemic’s impact and the humanitarian responses implemented in several countries
lacking the healthcare capacities to tackle this unprecedented crisis.
W ith over 112 million confirmed cases at the
time of writing*, the Covid-19 pandemic
has placed enormous strain on the world’s healthcare
systems. It has also widened the social divide and
camps and host communities in the south-east of the
country since 2010. Despite a rising incidence rate and
a very strict lockdown that came into force in March
2020, limiting access to communities, our NGO managed
exacerbated the most vulnerable communities’ living to continue its essential activities by adapting them to
conditions, especially in conflict zones. In response to this Covid-19 (distribution of hygiene kits, disinfection of
unprecedented crisis, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has sanitary facilities, etc.). However, some activities that were
remained true to its mission as a front-line humanitarian deemed non-essential
actor, adapting its field activities (Water, Sanitation and (building and rehabilitating IT IS CRUCIAL
Hygiene, Food Security and Livelihoods, etc.) to best fit latrines or water networks)
TO MAINTAIN
the needs of the populations that we assist. were put on hold
THE CURRENT LEVEL
With over 153,000 registered cases, Nigeria is one of during the lockdown.
the worst affected countries in Africa. SOLIDARITÉS Food security activities
OF AID, SO THAT
INTERNATIONAL opened a humanitarian mission in Borno continued, in the form
LOCAL AUTHORITIES
State in 2016, where we carry out cholera prevention of pre-monsoon seed CAN BUILD UP THEIR
and response activities, among other programs. Drawing distribution. In Myanmar, EXPERTISE TO FIGHT
on our experience as regional Cholera Task Force where there are around FUTURE EPIDEMICS.
coordinator over the last few years, our NGO proposed 141,000 confirmed cases,
appropriate prevention and response activities to fight we mainly focused our activities on the Rakhine and
Covid-19. Our teams thus obtained funding to create Kachin States, where the majority of displaced persons
special hygiene kits, to carry out awareness-raising are living. This included water supply and treatment,
activities (protective measures, social distancing, wearing distribution of Covid-19 kits, construction of handwashing
a mask, etc.) and to improve sanitation and access to stations and awareness-raising within communities.
FIGHTING
drinking water. These activities are just a few examples of the
In Cameroon, where we have been working since many actions taken. Our field teams’ efficient work,
2014, 33,749 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have together with the expertise provided by SOLIDARITÉS
been recorded. To fight the epidemic, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and other actors (UN agencies, local
EPIDEMICS
INTERNATIONAL has joined forces with Action contre and international NGOs, health ministries, institutional
la Faim and the Cameroonian Public Health Ministry to donors, civil society) enabled the implementation of a
implement a project funded by the Agence Française large-scale response. Mobilizing human, financial and
de Développement (AFD). Our teams are working in logistical resources on such a large scale presented
quarantine/isolation centres, and are concentrating their challenges, but we faced these challenges together. And
efforts on installing handwashing stations, managing there is still much to be done: it is crucial to maintain the
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been a plethora of public health messages waste, and infection control and prevention. SOLIDARITÉS current level of aid, so that local authorities can build up
about protective measures, and especially about handwashing. But the simple act of INTERNATIONAL is also active in Central African refugee their expertise to fight future epidemics and pandemics,
washing your hands is far from straightforward throughout the world. In many countries, camps, where it is carrying out mass awareness-raising and also to develop clear operational strategies for the
especially in Africa, access to domestic water supplies is inadequate or even inexistent. activities in collaboration with traditional leaders and post-pandemic period.
In such situations, how can you effectively protect yourself from epidemics, or more community focal points.
generally from water-related diseases? The lessons learned from fighting cholera in Haiti In South-East Asia, Bangladesh has registered over
and in the Lake Chad basin, as well as from combating Ebola in the Democratic Republic 544,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. SOLIDARITÉS * Dashboard by Johns Hopkins University, 25th February 2021
of Congo, show that nothing is possible unless coordinated, inclusive, long-term responses INTERNATIONAL has been working in Rohingya refugee coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
are implemented.
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CHOLERA IN HAITI THE NEED TO BUILD TRUST
AND INVOLVE POPULATIONS
They also decide whether or not to seek medical
attention, especially
AND COVID-19 IN PARIS: A deadly disease characterized by several successive
waves of infection, against a backdrop of public distrust
when they have moderate
symptoms of the disease.
Finally, they are the ones
WHEN FIGHTING
CHOLERA OR
By RENAUD PIARROUX,
EPIDEMIOLOGIST* NOT SO DISSIMILAR AFTER ALL! for political authorities; a scientific controversy over the that choose whether or
COVID-19, IT IS PEOPLE
THEMSELVES WHO
origins and the future of the epidemic, as well as on not to open their doors to
how to put an end to it; experts who have lost credibility epidemic response teams.
DECIDE WHETHER
because they are suspected of hiding the truth and not And, where Covid-19 is OR NOT TO OBSERVE
Renaud Piarroux is head of the parasitology and mycology department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière seeking to inform objectively; and lastly, great difficulties concerned, these same GOOD HYGIENE
hospital in Paris, and professor at the Sorbonne University Faculty of Medicine. An internationally in establishing a coherent strategy and setting up an people are asked to AND PROTECTIVE
recognized specialist in cholera epidemics, he is actively involved in fighting Covid-19* effective response. It is clear that the health and social provide the names of MEASURES.
and has agreed to give SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL his analysis of the current health crisis. crisis caused by Covid-19 in France has many similarities their contacts, which is
As he sees it, lessons learned from fighting cholera in Haiti can serve us in the ongoing battle with the cholera epidemic in Haiti. In this respect, two an essential step to break the chains of transmission
against Covid-19 in France. points merit emphasis since they will determine the surrounding each confirmed case.
success or failure of the Covid-19 response in the coming
I
months, at least until the population has been vaccinated. MOBILE TEAMS:
A VALUABLE ASSET
t may seem surprising to compare the cholera went by, this hypothesis was refuted by epidemiological Firstly, it is absolutely essential to establish a trusting
epidemic in Haiti to the outbreak of Covid-19 in Paris. studies and by comparing the genomes of the vibrio relationship between the general public and the scientific In Haiti, mobile teams gradually gained the population’s
At first, these two situations seem to have nothing at all cholerae strains identified during the Nepalese and and political authorities that are involved in designing trust by travelling throughout the country and providing
in common: the causes of infection (bacterium versus Haitian epidemics. As scientific evidence of the UN and implementing activities to fight the epidemic. everyone with the materials they needed to protect
virus), clinical symptoms and treatments are different, forces’ responsibility continued to mount, rendering the Clearly, in France as in Haiti, this relationship was very themselves against cholera. Our supervisory rounds
as are the ways these two diseases spread, except for climate hypothesis more quickly damaged by the inconsistent and sometimes enabled us to check that people understood and were
the common denominator that they are transmitted via and more implausible, even false declarations made by certain experts and observing hygiene guidelines, insofar as conditions
contaminated hands. Above all, the context is completely the arguments put
WITH NO POLITICAL politicians over the course of the epidemic. Faced with a permitted. The mobile teams acquired specific skills and
different. On the one hand, a disease associated with forward by PAHO experts
OR SCIENTIFIC case of health misconduct that, in one situation, caused earned a good reputation, which increased the impact
underdevelopment, which broke out in a context of and supported by
CONSENSUS, IT TOOK an epidemic (introduction of cholera in Haiti) and, in of their operations. In France, the mobile team strategy
political, economic and social collapse; on the other, an academics grew weaker YEARS TO ORGANIZE the other, compromised the response to an epidemic to visit patients and their families in their homes is still
epidemic affecting a rich European city where the social and weaker, as did the ACTION TO FIGHT (lack of preparation and protective equipment to tackle in its very early stages. Initially deemed too complex to
context is indeed tense, but not enough to threaten official UN position CHOLERA. Covid-19 in France), there was a great temptation to hide apply, it has only been implemented in Paris (COVISAN),
overall social stability. And yet, despite these intrinsic denying any responsibility the truth and look to pseudoscientific explanations as a Cayenne (YANACOV) and Marseille (CORHESAN). For
differences, there are many similarities between the two for this catastrophe. It took another six years before means of skirting the issue. In Haiti, the focus turned to the moment, it only covers limited areas within these
catastrophes. Ban Ki-moon, then UN Secretary-General, implicitly the environmental context, poverty within the country three cities. And yet these teams are a valuable asset to
acknowledged the organization’s responsibility and and the population’s failure to observe personal hygiene help the population get organized to fight the epidemic,
THE HAITIAN offered his apologies to the Haitian population. measures. In France, the general public was told that they especially as people are weary of the crisis and mistrust
CONTROVERSY did not need masks or any other form of protection—not the government, whom they consider detached from
This controversy over the origin of the epidemic, even fabric masks that could have been produced very reality.
The cholera epidemic broke out in Haiti in October 2010, coupled with many Haitians’ distrust of both the United quickly. It seems that in politics, it is never advisable to
while the country was still reeling from the effects of a Nations and their own successive governments, meant acknowledge your mistakes. This allows you to maintain Cholera in Haiti and Covid-19 in Paris are not so dissimilar
particularly deadly earthquake (between 100,000 and that a trusting environment could not be established, your advantage over the enemy. However, let us note that after all. There is even a direct link between the mobile
300,000 lives lost) that had hit eight months earlier. In thus impeding the implementation of cholera control when the enemy is a virus, this attitude has a phenomenal team strategies in Haiti and in Paris: the first COVISAN
the space of a few days, cholera cases exploded along activities. With no political or scientific consensus on cost, measured in human lives. Moreover, since these hub, which was launched last April at the Pitié-Salpêtrière
the length of Haiti’s largest river, the Artibonite. Although which strategy to pursue, it took years to adequately errors cannot be concealed indefinitely, disguising them Hospital in Paris, is based on the Haitian cholera response
epidemiological investigations quickly identified the organize and implement action to fight cholera, especially leads to controversy, which in turn fuels conspiracy model and was set up with the assistance of a former
disease’s point of origin right next to a camp of UN the intervention of mobile teams every time a new case theories and undermines trust among a growing Country Manager at SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL.
peacekeepers freshly arrived from Nepal, where there was detected. As a result, the epidemic continued year proportion of the population. This means that instructions
was an ongoing cholera epidemic, experts from the Pan after year, as successive outbreaks alternated with to prevent the epidemic spreading are not always
American Health Organization (PAHO) and various UN relatively calm periods. It was only at the end of 2016 followed, and the situation gets worse. The epidemic
agencies immediately ruled out the theory that these that this struggle finally took a turn for the better, when takes hold.
soldiers had imported the dangerous microbe. American Ban Ki-moon’s apology put fighting cholera back on the
academics then rushed to second this conclusion, international community’s political agenda. Two years The second point concerns the population’s central
claiming that the epidemic was linked to global warming later, in February 2019, the last cholera outbreak was role in controlling epidemics. When fighting cholera or
* Renaud Piarroux has written two books:
and the emergence of the offending bacteria in the extinguished near the Artibonite delta. Since then, not a Covid-19, it is people themselves who decide whether or Choléra. Haïti 2010-2018, histoire d’un désastre (2019)
brackish waters of the Artibonite delta. However, as time single case of cholera has been diagnosed in Haiti. not to observe good hygiene and protective measures. and La vague. L’épidémie vue du terrain (2020).
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CROSS-BORDER CHOLERA LESSONSBy JUSTINE MUZIK PIQUEMAL,
REGIONAL DESK MANAGER,
EPIDEMICS IN THE LEARNED FROM
and BRIAN MALAPEL, DRC DEPUTY COUNTRY
MANAGER AT SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
LAKE CHAD BASIN
By ALLASSANE TRAORÉ,
WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE ADVISOR
AT SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL (DAKAR OFFICE)
FIGHTING EBOLA IN DRC
The tenth 1 epidemic of Ebola Virus Disease, which ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between
The only successful way epidemics in the basin area; they were To this end, significant progress has 2018 and June 2020, claimed a tragic total of 2,277 lives. The only Ebola outbreak to exceed this death toll was
to fight cholera in the Lake Chad updated in 2017 with support from the been made in cross-border collaboration the West African epidemic (2013-2016). Let us take another look at the second-worst epidemic to hit sub-Saharan Africa.
basin is stronger long-term regional cholera platform and in close between the region’s countries, thanks
S
cooperation between the collaboration with national and regional to the regional cholera platform’s
various countries in the region. actors. mobilization, technical support and
coordination. The platform, which is OLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, Faced with this complex environment, establishments, and to raise awareness
T
According to data from these factsheets2 , co-managed by UNICEF and the WHO, a humanitarian NGO specializing our NGO has never once suspended its among children, families and public sector
epidemiological surveillance recorded has actively contributed to creating a in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), activities. Instead, we have adapted them staff about good WASH practices.
he first cholera epidemics in 37,396 cases and 1,646 deaths in Cameroon joint, shared framework between Chad was actively involved in the fight against to meet the population’s needs (distribution
the Lake Chad basin broke out between 2010 and 2017 (case fatality rate basin countries. Several cross-border the West African Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) of seeds or cash, WASH activities, etc.) AN INTEGRATED
in 1971, when the seventh pandemic ≈ 4.4%) as well as 122,239 cases and 3,713 workshops have been held (the last one in epidemic in 2014, alongside Médecins in those very areas where the risk of APPROACH
extended into West Africa. 1991 marked a deaths in Nigeria (case fatality rate ≈ 3%). N’Djamena in 2018) to make progress on du Monde, in an Ebola Treatment Centre contagion is high, while continuously IS ESSENTIAL
major turning point as annual epidemics When we compare their epidemiological the major challenge of eradicating cholera. in Sierra Leone2 . Our teams were in observing the “do no harm” principle both
became larger and more frequent, graphs, we observe that these countries These initiatives have brought national charge of WASH management, as well as for our beneficiaries and our teams. The 11th Ebola epidemic in DRC, which just
amounting to 80,600 cases and 9,800 1 are often affected by cholera at the same stakeholders together and enabled infection prevention and control protocols. came to an end in November 2020, shows
deaths in the four Chad basin countries: time, with an outbreak in one country then them to exchange information and alerts. They were also involved in community SOLIDARITÉS that meeting the needs of vulnerable
Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon. spreading to neighbouring countries. Despite these efforts, many challenges mobilization, by carrying out prevention INTERNATIONAL’S populations, and especially their WASH
Geographical, anthropological and remain, among them formalizing cross- campaigns in schools and providing ACTIONS needs, remains crucial to the prevention
epidemiological studies conducted over According to cholera platform data, Nigeria border collaboration at every level within support for health authorities. and containment of any future diseases
several years show the cross-border and Niger suffered from a relatively serious healthcare systems, and improving rapid In September 2019, SOLIDARITÉS with acute epidemic potential. The
spread and development of epidemics in epidemic in 2018 (29,239 and 3,803 cases detection, preparedness, multidisciplinary A COMPLEX INTERNATIONAL launched an Ebola population must play a central role in
the region. respectively), whereas Cameroon recorded responses and coordination. COMBINATION response project in Butembo (Nord-Kivu), response programs, through awareness-
1,017 cases and Chad was spared. Overall, OF CHALLENGES funded by UNICEF. The program aims to raising and community involvement
In 2010, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and this downward trend continued in 2019, improve access to drinking water services activities, community-based healthcare
Cameroun were affected by one of the with fewer cases recorded than in 2018, In the Democratic Republic of Congo, fear for the town’s population (nearly 90,000 and WASH activities. To achieve this,
worst cholera epidemics since the disease mainly due to the drastic decrease in cases and stigma over successive EVD outbreaks beneficiaries), to increase the knowledge it is essential to adopt an integrated,
emerged in West Africa. It resulted in in Nigeria (only 3,513). have given rise to violence and resistance and involvement of institutional interdisciplinary WASH, Health and
an estimated 58,000 cases and claimed among the majority of the population. stakeholders, and to help prevent Nutrition approach that combines
23,000 lives in these four countries, the According to epidemiological data, the This context makes it even more difficult and reduce the spread of epidemic building/rehabilitating infrastructure
majority of which were registered in the Lake Chad basin remains one of the to establish a secure, appropriate diseases, especially the Ebola virus. with training/raising awareness. The
basin area. This regional outbreak is the worst-affected regions in the world in humanitarian response strategy. It hinders In addition to building hydraulic implementation of medium/long-term
second largest epidemic recorded in the terms of cholera outbreaks. The region’s the effective implementation of the infrastructure, water network technicians projects aimed at improving hygiene and
past forty years. epidemiological profile is alarming, due to necessary preventive and diagnostic received technical training and were made sanitation conditions within communities
the annual occurrence of epidemics and measures, and hampers community aware of the importance of analyzing and in public spaces, can help
Since 2012, studies have analyzed and their incidence rates. awareness-raising activities to reduce and treating water. eliminate the need for post-emergency
documented the contexts where cholera 1 UNICEF August 2011, WASH and Cholera the spread of the epidemic. All this interventions.
Epidemiology: an Integrated Evaluation
transmission occurs, how epidemics Effective, long-term management of in the Countries of the Lake Chad Basin
against a backdrop of recurrent armed In order to reduce the impact and
spread and “hotspots”, with a view to cholera issues in the area requires close humanitarianresponse.info/sites/ clashes within the country and the prevalence of infectious diseases that 1 Ebola Virus Disease epidemics in DRC are dated
www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/ and located as follows:
issuing earlier national and cross-border cooperation between countries and LakeChadBasinCholeraWashStudy.pdf
resulting population displacements, could potentially cause epidemics, our • 1 st outbreak 1976, Equateur province,
alerts and improving early response especially between “hotspots”: they must 2 UNICEF/ECHO 2018, Cholera Factsheet Tchad, which accentuate humanitarian needs NGO is also carrying out a UNICEF- • 2nd outbreak 1977, Equateur,
Niger, Nigeria et Cameroun • 3 rd outbreak 1995, Bandundu,
capabilities. Since 2013, factsheets have issue warnings, exchange information and plateformecholera.info/index.php/cholera-in-wca/
and increase pressure on inadequate funded WASH project within communities • 4th et 5th outbreak 2007-2008, Kasaï,
been prepared on the progression of implement coordinated responses. cholera-factsheet existing WASH facilities (fragile public affected by Ebola in Mabalako and • 6th outbreak 2012, Oriental province,
• 7 th outbreak 2014, Equateur,
water services, low access to operational Mandima health zones (Nord-Kivu). The • 8th outbreak 2017, Oriental province,
sanitation facilities, inappropriate hygiene goal is to provide the communities located • 9th outbreak 2018, Equateur,
• 10th outbreak 2018, Nord-Kivu and Ituri,
practices, etc.), thus creating a breeding within the project’s intervention areas with • 11th outbreak 2020, Nord-Kivu.
ground for the disease to spread within the access to operational WASH facilities, 2 SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL se mobilise contre
Ebola en RDC, mai 2018
community. both in primary schools and healthcare
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DISPLACED By EMMETT KEARNEY,
HEAD OF GLOBAL WASH TEAM, UNHCR
PERSONS:
A SHAMEFUL MILESTONE
Amidst the global maelstrom of the COVID-19 pandemic and its wide-ranging impacts on humanity,
we quietly passed a grim milestone in the middle of 2020. There are now over 80 million people forcibly
displaced globally. This means that more than 1% of humanity is now displaced due to conflict, persecution,
and human rights violations.
T his is not the outcome of an inexorable and steady
increase in displacement over previous decades. In fact,
the number of displaced nearly doubled from around 41 million
in 2010 to this shameful number of 80 million today. Prior to this,
communities, in increased advocacy at all levels and through
various streams including the human-rights based approach, in
formal integration of displaced people into local service delivery,
in faster and better coordinated transitions from emergency to
previous decades had seen relative stability below 40 million. sustainable programming among other areas.
The reasons for this jump are many but two stand out. The first To make progress on inclusion, humanitarian actors will have to
and most obvious relates to the multiple massive displacements forge stronger links and learn to better engage with displaced
due to conflict. 67% of all global refugees originate from just and host communities, development stakeholders, local actors,
five countries: Syria (6.6m), Venezuela (3.7m), and government counterparts. A diverse range
Afghanistan (2.7m), South Sudan (2.3m), and of stakeholders have already begun this work in
REFUGEES
Myanmar (1m). a few contexts; lessons and guidance are being
AND OTHER documented but more collective efforts will be
The second reason relates to the fact that in
DISPLACED required.
the decades prior to 2010, while there were PEOPLE MUST
new displacements and some of them quite BE INCLUDED The figure of 80 million displaced is an indication
significant, there were also solutions found for that political leaders have been unable to find
these displacements. Those displaced either returned home, solutions. For humanitarian actors it should be an indication that
integrated into the hosting communities or were resettled to the increasingly complex challenges will require us to adapt, to
third countries. Roughly a combined 25 million refugees returned use new thinking and innovation in the way that we approach our
home in the 1990s and 2000s, compared to only 3.9 in the 2010s. work, define our goals and engage our affected populations.
HOW DO WE DO MORE WITH LESS?
80
As humanitarian WASH actors, what can we expect as we enter a
decade in which we expect to see the socio-economic impacts
of COVID-19 including impacts on donor budgets and increased MILLION DISPLACED
effects of climate change that could put further stressors on
ongoing conflicts and catalyze further complex emergencies?
How do we deal with the increasing numbers of displaced people
if humanitarian funding cannot keep pace? How do we link
26.4 MILLION REFUGEES
humanitarian and development work to ensure that displaced
people are counted as part of work on SDGs and not left further
behind? How do we do more with less?
45.7 MILLION IDPS
Inclusion is the emerging concept that captures many of the areas
of work that need to receive more attention by an expanding range
4.2 MILLION ASYLUM SEEKERS
of stakeholders to look for more sustainable solutions wherever
possible. Refugees and other displaced people must be included:
in SDG monitoring and reporting, in development strategies and
3.6 MILLION VENEZUELANS
DISPLACED ABROAD
related fundraising, in improved feedback and accountability
mechanisms targeting both those displaced and their hosting
ALL FIGURES IN THIS ARTICLE COME FROM THE UNHCR UNHCR MID-YEAR TRENDS 2020 AND GLOBAL TRENDS 2019 REPORTS
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