Standards & guidance

Agree on WASH response technical standards

Many standards have been developed to ensure a minimum quality of the emergency WASH response. The ones commonly used are SPHERE standards, but similar ones were developed by UNHCR for refugee context. WHO have WASH specific standards, especially regarding drinking water quality or WASH in Healthcare setting.  Some aid organizations also have their own set of standards, similar or complementing the ones from SPHERE, that they might prefer to use. Finally, most countries where emergencies occur have their own set of standards: although they are sometimes not complete enough or not adapted to emergency contexts, they are in theory the ones that partners should follow in priority.

WASH Coordination platform must reach an agreement with partners on which standards should be followed depending on the context and the emergency phase.

Agree on WASH technical guidance and key actions

Even if strategic objectives have been agreed for the response, partners may have different ways to reach the same goal. From the point of view of beneficiaries or local government, this lack of coherence between actors can bring confusion, delay response or decrease its impact. For instance, a lack of agreement between partners on content of hygiene kit, or volunteers’ incentive can have very negative effects on local communities. Agreement on methodologies used by partners is thus necessary, which should be achieved by the coordination platform. This work is better done in preparedness phase, and is complementary to to the choice of technical standards.