Water and Sanitation for All in emergency operations NGO Workshop, Oslo Hazel Jones 1st June 2011 Introduce WEDC

Who are the affected population? This conference is about people with disabilities, but my talk is about a wider population scope: Anyone who for whatever reason may experience difficulty getting to a facility, getting into it or onto it, or using it People who have difficulty accessing and using existing facilities for whatever reason, e.g. Disabled people Frail elderly people People with chronic (long-term) medical conditions People who are sick or injured (temporary) Small children Women whilst heavily pregnant or menstruating Overweight people This is actually a majority of the population Improving access is not technically difficult – technology not complicated They’ve just not thought about it Many examples presented are of disabled people, as they have the most severe difficulties. I want to point out that if we find a solution or approach that benefits disabled people, many others will automatically also benefit.

Obstacles getting there

Water sources that present obstacles Obstacles to accessibility- these next four slides show examples of obstacles. Run through these quickly, asking students to identify potential obstacles. Top L: log access to shallow well in Cambodia Bottom L: Shallow well in Uganda

Obstacles getting in Top left: Getting there can be a problem: paths can be uneven, slippery, steep with obstacles Top right: Entrances are often too narrow (this one is 550mm) Bottom right: Steps often too steep, uneven & slippery when wet Bottom Left Drop hole too wide, unstable, nothing to hold onto…

Typical latrines

Resource Materials Make technical people aware that stuff they build is to be used by people. If some people can’t use it they’ve not done their job properly

(Photo: Handicap International Sri Lanka) Key word is access Let’s take a step back and examine the context – working environment (Photo: Handicap International Sri Lanka)

Floor layout for a school toilet block (part of a larger drawing)

Examples of training Inclusive design incorporated into MSF training Webinar for UNICEF on accessible school sanitation Mixed mode training for WaterAid (distance learning/ online discussion/ workshop E-learning course: Humanitarian Engineering for Development & Disasters

Field level advocacy – accessibility audits 1. Field level advocacy – ask how a wheelchair user/small child/ heavily pregnant woman will get into this latrine? (Accessibility audit approach) Make technical people aware that stuff they build is to be used by people. If some people can’t use it they’ve not done their job properly

Useful links WEDC Knowledge Base: http://wedc.Lboro.ac.uk/knowledge/know.html Water & Sanitation for Disabled People & other vulnerable groups: http://wedc/Lboro.ac.uk/wsdp Inclusive WASH & Disability Keylist: http://asksource.ids.ac.uk/cf/keylists/keylist2.cfm?topic=dis&search=QL_WASH10 (Scroll to the bottom for emergency docs)

Who are the WATSAN service providers? Usually young, male, newly qualified engineers Little supervision Technology focused rather than people-centred Forget about users & their range of needs Young engineers fit active & enthusiastic Training is technology focused Difficult for them to put themselves in shoes of users who may have a wide range of needs;