Emily Christensen Rand

UNICEF · WASH

Vanuatu is a small island state ranked the most at-risk for natural hazards globally. Access to safe and secure water is limited, particularly for poor and rural residents. It is projected that climate change will increase temperatures, sea level, cyclone intensity, and extreme rainfall events in Vanuatu. As the impacts of climate change become cle...

There is increasing awareness of household self-supply and the role it can play in securing water for domestic needs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but its scale across the Asia-Pacific has not previously been quantified. This study analysed 77 datasets from 26 countries to estimate the prevalence of self-supplied drinking water, and...

Around 2 million people in the Pacific depend on rainwater collection for their drinking water, however these systems often struggle to provide sufficient quantities of water year round. This study examined the performance of 1,878 rainwater tanks across 19 islands in Vanuatu to assess whether the likelihood of a sufficient year‐round supply of dri...

Consumption of poor quality water can cause diarrhoea and waterborne disease. To determine how to support residents to consume safe water, the Vanuatu Department of Water Resources (DoWR) undertook an analysis. The analysis included reviewing 793 water quality test results, exploring treatment options with WASH sector stakeholders, surveying 689 co...

In Small Island Developing States (SIDS), water pollution is not monitored or assessed frequently enough to fully understand the processes, impacts of water quality issues and what solutions are available This study investigated flushing time in Erakor lagoon and Port Vila Bay, Vanuatu using a numerical model developed in Delft3D. Microbial contami...

On 7 April 2020, Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold caused major infrastructure damage to 43% (128/298) of schools and 47% (164/349) of ECCE (early childhood care and education) centres in Vanuatu’s Sanma, Malampa and Penama provinces1. Pentecost, in Penama province, was among the hardest hit with all of the 23 schools in central and southern zones repor...

During the recovery phase following a disaster, humanitarian aid organizations are uniquely positioned to implement water and sanitation activities that go beyond disaster recovery to provide beneficiaries with systems that are more environmentally sustainable than pre-disaster conditions. Oftentimes, however, the pressure to rapidly restore post-d...

Piped water systems are considered to provide the highest service level for drinking water supplies; however, global monitoring of safe water access pays little attention to the type of water source that piped systems draw upon, even if the water is not treated prior to distribution. This study sought to understand whether the source of water for u...

Safe disposal of children’s feces is as essential as that of adults’ feces. The Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) tracks progress toward the Millennium Development Goal 7 target to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. The JMP standardized defini...

While the impact of poor sanitation is often measured by the effects on children, most sanitation interventions target adults. Global monitoring of sanitation coverage against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) generally also overlooks sanitation among young children. In Bangladesh, the faeces of only 22% of children under age three were dispo...

Many groups are working to improve the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) situation in Timor-Leste. Recent availability of low-cost digital cameras that take geo-coded, time-stamped photos offers opportunities to easily improve WASH programme monitoring. From 2010 to 2012, Oxfam staff in remote locations in Timor-Leste have taken photos, overlay...

Following the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, many aid agencies constructed houses. At that time there was much discussion regarding housing construction priorities and approaches. To quantify the perspectives and satisfaction of post-tsunami housing residents, individuals were surveyed in 30% (361/1,222) of Oxfam-funded houses in Aceh. The survey revealed t...

This paper examines methods and strategies for addressing environmental stewardship within the humanitarian aid water and sanitation sector with a focus on case studies from the 2004 tsunami recovery effort in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. During the recovery phase following a natural or technological disaster, humanitarian aid organizations...

Objectives: To quantify the water and sanitation situation, the hygiene knowledge, attitudes and practices of tsunami survivors living in temporary barracks and to discuss the policy implications of these conditions for local and national government Methods: Household surveys were conducted in 30 barrack buildings. Drinking water samples were col...

Editor—One of the leading causes of death and disability in the Middle East is road traffic injuries. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2020 road traffic injuries will be the third leading cause of disability adjusted years of life lost worldwide.1 Our analysis of the International Road Federation's world road statistics found that fi...