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What is it about?

Preparedness is an essential aspect The WASH coordination platform must participate in the strengthening of the humanitarian action, and one of the core function of cluster coordination. Local communities and authorities must be prepared to the eventuality of a crisis to mitigate its negative impact. Humanitarian actors must be prepared to provide an efficient and timely response, based on experience and lesson from previous emergencies. WASH Sector Coordinators participate in inter-sector emergency planning process, often led by OCHA and including the Red Cross Movement. They must coordinate the preparation and implementation of the WASH ERP with the WASH partners. The ERP process is inextricably linked to capacity mapping and development, and many tools and approaches are the same for both process.

Coordination platform efforts during preparedness should also include the consolidation of lesson learned from recent emergencies to improve future WASH response planning on key areas.

Building capacity of local authorities to take on WASH humanitarian coordination is part of the general preparedness process led by clusters. Transition from a cluster to a sector-led coordination must be anticipated well in advance, and can only occur once context is stabilized.local humanitarian WASH systems to support disaster resilience and a more localized humanitarian response

The 2012 Transformative Agenda highlighted the temporary essence of the humanitarian clusters, and the responsibility for clusters to build the capacity of the national government to progressively take a leading role on response coordination, with a final objective of cluster deactivation and transition to sector once adequate capacity has been reached. Four year later, this agenda was pushed forward by the launch of the Grand Bargain initiative: the largest donors and humanitarian agencies made several commitments to better localize the humanitarian coordination and to strengthen the role of local government and civil society actors in implementing and monitoring humanitarian WASH response. The Gran Bargain also called for an increased used of market-based programming in the response, especially regarding the use of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), which should be considered for the WASH response when relevant and appropriate.  The Gran Bargain also calls for more collaboration with development partners to improve the humanitarian development nexus, ensuring on one side that WASH development programs improve disaster resilience and preparedness, and on the other side WASH humanitarian response supports the continuity of the development agenda.

What are your objectives?

• Develop a common understanding of risk among all stakeholders
• Establish a system to monitor those risks and ensure early actions are taken when required to mitigate or prevent risks
• Design programs aiming at developing the capacities of the whole WASH sector (partners, communities, local market, local authorities...) to better react to potential threats, including the development of contingency plans
• Ensure that WASH humanitarian actors have proper mechanism and tools to coordinate the WASH response
• Develop relevant information that can be used as the basis for initial WASH response strategic planning
• Use lessons from past emergencies to improve current and future humanitarian WASH emergency response

At least, you should do... 

• National government takes a leading role in the coordination and the monitoring of the humanitarian WASH response
• Local public, private and civil society actors have a better capacity to implement and monitor the humanitarian WASH response
• The emergency preparedness and response processes use and support adequately local WASH market systems
• Partnerships are established between development and humanitarian actors to improve resilience, preparedness and emergency response

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