Water, sanitation & hygiene

Capstone Three
Group photo at Africa Charter launch
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Innovation in future management of water, sanitation and hygiene

Work in this area seeks to develop a programme of Africa-led research that supports Africa-centred innovation in water management, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

With support from the Perivoli Foundation and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and together with the African Union Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the African Population and Health Research Center, and the AUDA-NEPAD Networks for Water Centres of Excellence in Southern, Western and Eastern/Central Africa, we supported the identification of African priority areas  for research on WASH, through a six step process:

  1. An initial co-creation workshop bringing together key stakeholders from selected AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities, continental bodies, technical partners, academic experts and civil society Organisations on 28 October 2021
  2. Analysis of Clarivate Web of Science data to profile and compare the landscape of WASH Research foci across African countries and subregions
  3. Analysis of WASSMO African member states’ reporting data on key indicators of progress in WASH policy and programming
  4. Virtual multistakeholder workshop to pinpoint region-specific African WASH Research priorities respectively for Eastern, Southern Africa and for Western and Central Africa.
  5. Validation of priority areas through engagement with key stakeholders from the African WASH sector, including the executive secretary of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW).
  6. Development of an annotated bibliography of literature on identified WASH research priorities

Together with partners we are now facilitating the identification of relevant funding opportunities and formation of Africa-led consortia to develop proposals and projects to address the identified research priorities.

We have made progress, together with partners, toward the co-creation of research agendas that genuinely reflect priority evidence needs on the ground. For WASH, this process was concluded in a recent workshop (7-11 March) convened through the Centre for Collaboration in Africa, University of Stellenbosch and in conjunction with APHRC.

An earlier WASH workshop was held on 28 October in conjunction with the AUC, as well as a session at the African Girls Summit in Niamey, Niger, on 18 November 2021.

Read blog post by Dr. Nico Elema, the Director of the Centre for Collaboration in Africa at Stellenbosch University: Equal partnerships in creating an African-centred WASH Research Agenda.

SEED-CORN

Assessing climate resilience of multi-village water supplies in Ethiopia

Project team

  • Principal Investigator: Dr Abraham Geremew, Haramaya University, Ethiopia
  • University of Bristol collaborator: Dr Anisha Nijhawan (Civil Engineering)
  • Co-investigator: Professor Guy Howard, University of Bristol
  • Yohannes Mulugeta, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University
  • Mohammed Muzeyin Ali, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University

Summary

Climate change threatens the drinking water supply of millions of people in rural Ethiopia, where less than 10% of the population has access to water that is free from contamination. Most communities rely on shared water sources, generally managed by local community volunteers. These are prone to frequent mechanical breakdowns during drought and faecal contamination after heavy rainfall. To address the risks posed by current climate patterns and future climate change, the Government of Ethiopia is building multi-village, piped-water supplies managed by professionalized rural utilities.

These systems have the potential to minimize the low levels of safe water access and the high vulnerability of existing water supplies to erratic rainfall.

The goal is to use a framework called How tough is WASH? to determine how multi-village piped-water supplies are likely to respond to climate threats. The ability of water supplies to cope with climate effects i.e., their climate resilience, depends on multiple aspects of service delivery including local government support, effective management, and well-designed infrastructure.

We have secured support from the Ministry of Health and Water Development Commission of the Government of Ethiopia to test this framework at selected sites and the outputs will be used to inform national monitoring of climate-resilient water supplies.

Read WASH at Bristol blog post: How tough is WASH framework.

Below you can view some stills from the dissemination workshop on research findings which took place on April 25, 2023.