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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Index: Development and Application to Measure WASH Service Levels in European Humanitarian Camps

Author

Listed:
  • Demetrios E. Tsesmelis

    (Agricultural University of Athens)

  • Nikolaos A. Skondras

    (Agricultural University of Athens)

  • Syed Yasir Ahmad Khan

    (International Medical Corps
    Building and Civil Engineering Loughborough University)

  • Elpida Kolokytha

    (University Campus)

  • Christos A. Karavitis

    (Agricultural University of Athens)

Abstract

The Humanitarian Agents (HAs), are among the first entities dealing with the impacts of natural and man-made disasters. This is more than essential in areas, where the National governments and associated economies are either overwhelmed to respond or unprepared to act. Under such pressing conditions, the agents, as any other similar entity, depend on a variety of monitoring and assessment tools in order to reach the most suitable decisions per case. These tools are mostly employed for the scope definition and the content of their responses, the communication of the information among the various agents, and the reporting to their donors and other beneficiaries. To this end, several field tools have been developed worldwide. Building on such a background, the present effort describes a new tool and it argues towards the development and implementation of a WASH related Composite Index. The purpose of the Index is to facilitate the WASH related assessments in refugee camps, by capturing and reflecting the actual WASH conditions and provide the necessary information for efficient program planning and implementation. Starting with Europe and specifically the humanitarian camps in Greece, the development of the Index may allow its worldwide application, while adhering to the necessary and essential standards that govern the work of all HAs operating in the sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Demetrios E. Tsesmelis & Nikolaos A. Skondras & Syed Yasir Ahmad Khan & Elpida Kolokytha & Christos A. Karavitis, 2020. "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Index: Development and Application to Measure WASH Service Levels in European Humanitarian Camps," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(8), pages 2449-2470, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:34:y:2020:i:8:d:10.1007_s11269-020-02562-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-020-02562-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Pritam Ghosh & Moslem Hossain & Asraful Alam, 2022. "Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) poverty in India: A district‐level geospatial assessment," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 396-416, April.
    2. Wardeh, Mai & Marques, Rui Cunha, 2023. "Progress on sustainable development goal 6 in refugee camps in the Middle East: a comparative study," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Nikolaos A. Skondras & Demetrios E. Tsesmelis & Constantina G. Vasilakou & Christos A. Karavitis, 2020. "Resilience–Vulnerability Analysis: A Decision-Making Framework for Systems Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-14, November.

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