For more information, please visit the discussion on the SuSanA Forum. 

Linking WASH & Nutrition – A Roadmap towards Better Health

Photos:  SuSanA Secretariat 2016

ACF and GIZ invite you to take part in the 7^th Thematic Discussion, taking place from Wednesday, 30^th March until 13^th April 2016

1. Intro

Linking water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and nutrition has globally gained momentum. Nationalpolicies and development partners’ strategies in numerous countries already acknowledge the importance of adequate WASH conditions for achieving good nutritional status and call for WASH interventions to be scaled up along with nutrition actions. Beyond that, organisations campaign internationally for better sector collaboration. Building on ideas of the Bonn WASH Nutrition Forum in November 2015, this thematic discussion aims at continuing the dialog between the WASH sector and nutritionists. Over the course of two weeks, professionals from Action Contre La Faim (ACF), CARE, the German Toilet Organisation (GTO) and WaterAid will provide expertise for several of the complex facets at the sectoral interface.

2. Organisations / Experts

• ACF: Claire Gaillardou, WASH-DRM Advisor for West and Central Africa
• ACF: Rachel Lozano, Nutrition Survey and Prevention Advisor         
• CARE: Theresa Jeremias, Coordinator for Nutrition / Food Security
• GTO: Johannes Rück, Public Relations
• WaterAid: Dan Jones, Advocacy Coordinator
• WaterAid: Megan Wilson-Jones, Policy Analyst Health & Hygiene

3. Topics and Timeframe

Part I (30 March – 6 April):

Making the link in theory and practice – Where do we stand?

• The conceptual framework of under-nutrition (ACF)
• The need for integration now (GTO)

Part II (1 April – 8 April):

Learning from experiences - How does integration take place?

• WASH & Nutrition in the development context (CARE)
• WASH & Nutrition in the emergency context (ACF)

Part III (6 April – 13 April):

Progressing the agenda – What do we want to achieve?

• Advocating for integration (WaterAid)
• The complexity of policy making (WaterAid)

Influencing opportunities in 2016

Events, publications, project support (Please add to the list of collaboration opportunities)

4. Background Readings

• WaterAid, SHARE and LSHTM briefing (2015): Undernutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/1794
• - Generation Nutrition (2015): Factsheet - The Role of WASH in the fight of undernutrition http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2385
• - SuSanA (2014): Draft Factsheet - WASH in Nutrition http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2163

Further Literature:

• WHO, UNICEF, USAID (2015): Improving Nutrition Outcomes with Better Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Practical Solutions for Policies and Programmes http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2365
• ACF (2014): Greater Investment in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene is Key to the Fight Against Undernutrition http://www.susana.org/_resources/documents/default/3-2131-7-1421231666.pdf
• Chambers, R., von Medeazza, G. (2014): Reframing undernutrition: faecally-transmitted Infections and the 5 As http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2386
• Cumming, O. (2014): Podcast “Does improving sanitation benefit health?” https://soundcloud.com/lshtm/oliver-cumming-does-improving-sanitation-benefit-health
• Rome Declaration on Nutrition (2014) http://www.fao.org/3/a-mm215e.pdf

The main outcomes of the discussion are covered in the synthesis report