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Access to WASH in crisis and fragile contexts

Platform of French players involved in issues revolving around access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in crisis and fragile contexts.

Objectives

In fragile contexts, maintaining drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services is crucial for people’s health (it limites the spread of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera for instance) and for ensuring the stability of the people concerned. Today, humanitarian and development actors agree that they need to work more closely together to guarantee the continuity of services in these complex contexts.

Many French players are involved in these issues: the French government and several of its public bodies, the private sector, various major foundations, local authorities, NGOs and research institutes all have extensive expertise in these contexts.

In 2018, the French government announced that it ‘wants to be at the forefront of the transformation movement that is driving the humanitarian world today’ and ‘will contribute to the implementation of the humanitarian-development nexus, reforming its system in line with the guidelines of the Grand Bargain’. It has also made the WaSH sector a priority for its international cooperation by developing its first water and sanitation strategy for 2019-2021.

In response to these new dynamics, this French Water Partnership working group has been set up to provide a multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to WASH in fragile contexts. Its aim is to increase synergies between players and potentially boost the sector’s performance on selected issues. To achieve this, members can

  • Share and promote their expertise (communication, knowledge sharing, events, etc.)
  • Carry out advocacy activities with an international (and to some extent French) focus
  • Better coordinate their actions in relation to the WaSH in fragile contexts (research, partnerships, etc.)

 

Members et contributors

Solidarités International, Action Against Hunger, Secours Islamique France, Première Urgence International, Medair, the Veolia Foundation, the Suez Foundation, Aquassistance, Bioforce, the  URD Group, Nutriset, Inovaya, the Mairie de Paris, the six French water agencies, the MEAE, the AFD, Mascara, UDUMA, etc.

 

Strategic documents of the working group (in French only)

 

Actions in progress 

Following the 2025-2027 action plan agreed with WG members on 13/12/24, the deliverables and actions in progress will be updated shortly. Useful links will be available here soon.

 

Resources for staying informed about WASH in crisis and fragile settings:

 

Publications by our members:

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