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This case study tells the inspiring story of the Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) in India, a grassroots NGO originally born from the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). MHT works with women living in urban informal settlements to get access to services such as water, sanitation and electricity and secure tenure rights and property titles. Using a combination of community mobilization and strategic collaborations with local municipalities, it has helped empower women and increased the quality and reach of public and private services, enabling providers to make the ‘last mile’ connections that they often cannot (or refuse to). Community participation and involvement by women themselves is at the heart of everything it does. From its base in Ahmedabad, it has reached 1.8 million people in 36 cities across eight Indian states, and is now beginning to extend its influence internationally. MHT is now working with local leaders and community groups to raise awareness of the pandemic protect and enable the most vulnerable to access support.

Between April 2014 and March 2018, the SWIFT Consortium, led by Oxfam with Tearfund and ODI as members, carried out the 'SWIFT 1' project in DRC and Kenya to provide access to water and sanitation and to promote basic hygiene practices. In DRC, the consortium worked with implementing partners HYFRO, CEPROSSAN, and PPSSP in rural and semi-urban areas in three eastern provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema. This Effectiveness Review evaluates the success of this project to increase the sustainability of water and sanitation systems and services. It focuses on measuring benefits attributable to additional activities the project carried out in rural areas, above and beyond the national ‘Villages et Ecoles Assainis’ (VEA) approach. Using a quasi-experimental evaluation design, impact is assessed among individuals and their households in intervention and comparison communities in Kirotshe and Mweso Health Zones in North Kivu., Find out more by reading the full report now.

Between October 2016 and March 2019, the Freetown WASH Consortium, led by Oxfam with Against Hunger, Concern Worldwide and Save the Children as members, carried out the 'Improved WASH Services in Western Area Urban (WAU) and Western Area Rural (WAR) Districts' project. Broadly, the project aimed to improve the availability, accessibility, affordability and sustainability of integrated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, in alignment with the Government of Sierra Leone's national agenda on Ebola recovery and increased preparedness against possible future outbreaks. This Effectiveness Review evaluates the success of this project to increase the sustainability of water and sanitation systems and services. Using a quasi-experimental, mixed method evaluation design, impact is assessed among individuals, households and communities in intervention and comparison areas. Community-level factors contributing to better individual- and household-level outcomes are explored. Find out more by reading the full report now.

The ‘Urban WASH' project was implemented in George and Chawama compounds in Lusaka between July 2013 and June 2017 by Oxfam and Village Water Zambia. The project aimed to improve provision and sustainable management of WASH services by engaging citizens to hold duty bearers and service providers to account. Oxfam collaborated with local institutions on an array of activities, engaging stakeholders to create a conducive environment for service provision and improving capacities and practices. This Effectiveness Review evaluates the success of this project to increase the sustainability of water and sanitation systems and services. Using a quasi-experimental evaluation design, we assessed impact among households in the intervention communities and in a comparison community. We combined the household-level quantitative assessment with analysis of community-level qualitative Key Informant Interviews, carried out with relevant institutional representatives. Find out more by reading the full report now.

This evaluation is presented as part of the Effectiveness Review Series 2017/18. The Improving Urban WASH Governance and Accountability (IUWGA) project in Pakistan was selected for review under the ‘Sustainable Water’ thematic area. The overall objective of the project was to develop and pilot-test a local urban governance model that builds on a concept of collaborative rights and accountability relations as the basis for developing a new social contract between local authorities and citizens in new urban settlements. The model was piloted over a period of two years (April 2015 - March 2017) in two Union Councils in the Sindh and Punjab Province., This assessment focused on the effectiveness and likely sustainability of the participatory governance model relative to ‘equitable and sustainable access to water’. Participatory Impact Assessment and Learning Approach (PIALA) was used to rigorously assess the impact of system change and engage stakeholders in its processes., Find out more by reading the full report now.

This paper examines how networking and networks can be used as a tool to develop partnerships. This analysis aims to answer several key questions, such as: 'Why is networking important?' 'How will networking impact the development of projects and activities?' Partnering for Impact series To do the work it does, Oxfam works closely with partners at all stages of the programme, in all kind of contexts: humanitarian, influencing, development, etc. But what does it mean for our staff? Each day brings new challenges and opportunities, so how do they do it? Following a reflective and productive writeshop, this Partnering for Impact series was developed to share and explore learning from experienced practitioners about what it takes to 'work well in partnership'.

Accountability is one of the 11 standards that Oxfam is expected to meet in its development work. It is the process through which an organisation balances the needs of stakeholders in its decision-making and activities, and delivers against this commitment. One of the three projects randomly selected for an Accountability Review this year was SWIFT, a three-and-a-half year WASH project supported by DFID. The project is being implemented in Turkana County, Kenya and addresses some of the water and sanitation issues in the region, which has been experiencing droughts and serious food shortages for the past decade. Employing a participatory methodology, a total of 94 individuals took part in this assessment: Oxfam staff, partner staff (LOWASCO, KAWASEPRO, the Water Department and county government), and community members from Kakuma, Chokchok and Nasechabuin. The review process utilised document review, key informant interviews, two workshops and focus group discussions to understand and capture insights about accountability.

On 12 January 2010, the biggest earthquake in 200 years struck Port-au-Prince and its surrounding area in Haiti. Oxfam was able to build on its experience of more than 30 years in the country to work with communities, INGOs, NGOs, local organisations and the government, initially on immediate response, and also on longer-term development., The paper highlights key lessons learned from emergency WASH programming in Haiti following the earthquake. It also emphasizes Oxfam's efforts to provide WASH assistance via a gender-senstitive approach and draws out learning points that will be useful for responses to other large scale, mainly urban, disasters., This paper is one of a set of Programme Insights on gender equality in emergencies. See the other Programme Insights papers in this series, Gender-Sensitive Response and Recovery, Post-earthquake Response and Reconstruction, Restoring Livelihoods After Floods, Cash Transfers in Nairobi’s Slums, Protecting Communities in the DRC, Flood Preparedness in Viet Nam

In Tajikistan, water is a key resource in emergencies, and for irrigation and drinking water, yet its management is chaotic, which often leads to breakdowns in water supply systems. Many communities have resorted to taking drinking water directly from irrigation canals and rivers. Oxfam has been working for nearly three years with the government and key water sector players to tackle long-standing problems with rural water supplies. We are helping communities achieve sustainable access to drinking water and sanitation, and to challenge decision makers on water issues. This case study shares that work.

For several years, Oxfam has been working with communities in Turkana and Wajir, Kenya, building the capacity of local water committees to better manage their water supplies and hold higher authorities to account. Instead of short incentive-based workshops with little follow-up, Oxfam has taken a longer-term approach by developing a toolkit to provide regular training and support. Having demonstrated considerable success from this approach, Oxfam has advocated for other organizations to adopt a shared method of water committee training.

This case study focuses on Oxfam’s education programme in Viet Nam where Oxfam has worked closely with local partners to improve water and sanitation facilities in schools and to increase children’s understanding of good hygiene habits. Oxfam’s experience in Viet Nam shows that WASH activities can be successful as part of a larger model to improve the learning environment in schools and promote a child-centred approach to teaching methods. This case study is part of a series designed to illustrate how Oxfam GB has been working with partner organisations, schools and communities to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene into education programmes to tackle some of the biggest obstacles that prevent children from going to school.

This paper aims to share Oxfam GB's experience of working in partnership with local authorities, communities and other organisations to provide WASH facilities to villages and schools, using low-cost water technologies. In Mali, a pilot project has introduced the rope pump – a new, low-cost, easy-to-maintain type of technology, which has increased access to water and contributed to an increase in enrolment and better child health. This case study is part of a series designed to illustrate how Oxfam GB has been working with partner organisations, schools and communities to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene into education programmes to tackle some of the biggest obstacles that prevent children from going to school.

Oxfam, UNICEF and local partner Hijra developed a mobile phone based health promotion project in Somalia to support Polio prevention and control which began in November 2013. The project was implemented with two complementary components: pre-emptive community education delivered through interactive SMS on Polio prevention and distribution of water and sanitation items through SMS voucher redemption. This evaluation recommends that mobile phones are a relevant mechanism to deliver health and WASH information in Somalia.

This evaluation is presented as part of the Effectiveness Review Series 2013/14, selected for review under the resilience thematic area. This report documents the findings of a quasi-experimental evaluation carried out in March 2014 that sought to assess the impact of the activities of the project ‘Improving Livelihoods through Integrated Water Resource Management in Niger’., The project was carried out by Oxfam together with Karkara, a Nigerien non-governmental organisation, between 2008 and 2013, with the aim of enabling participants to strengthen their livelihoods and to minimize risk from shocks and adapt to emerging trends and uncertainty., For more information, the data for this effectiveness review is available through the UK Data Service. Read more about the Oxfam Effectiveness Reviews.

Oxfam is one of the world’s leading providers of humanitarian aid in emergencies, with well-recognised expertise in several fields. These are clean water, sanitation, public health, food security, and the protection of civilians, with a strong reputation for scale, speed, and innovation. Oxfam responds directly wherever there is a widespread threat to life, health, and livelihoods which is beyond people’s capacity to cope. This brochure summarises what we do and how we collaborate with others to deliver successful emergency response programmes all over the world.

Kenya’s ‘Turkana-Pokot Drought Management Initiative (DMI)’ was a three-year programme implemented by a consortium of NGOs which aimed to mitigate the effects of climatic shocks among pastoralist communities in north-western Kenya. Oxfam GB was responsible for implementing the livestock component of this programme in three of the most remote pastoralist communities in the northern part of Turkana County. These full and summary reports document the findings of a quasi-experimental impact evaluation carried out in July 2012.

The emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (WASH) gap analysis project was funded by The Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), a program managed by Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA) in partnership with the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP), and is a component of a larger initiative to identify and support innovations in emergency WASH. This paper gives an explanation of the background, methodology, and findings of the program.

Cholera strikes indiscriminately of sex, age, and social status. However, these are factors that may contribute to individuals' vulnerability to cholera, by dictating social roles and behaviours. In a society that adheres to strict gender roles, cholera transmission routes are more likely to be sex and age-specific. Despite this, the linkages between gender and vulnerability to cholera are not well understood and there is little literature on the topic. This research analyses the roles socially ascribed to boys, girls, men and women in specific environmental, economic and socio-cultural contexts to highlight groups that may be more vulnerable to cholera in Sierra Leone.

Since becoming independent on 9 July 2011, South Sudan has faced many challenges. Poor harvests have led to severe food shortages, and there have been continuous conflicts across the border with Sudan. In September 2011, intense fighting broke out in the Blue Nile State of Sudan between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (North). Thousands of people fled the fighting, and over 30,000 refugees arrived in the camps in Jamam, a village in the remote Upper Nile State of South Sudan. Since November 2011, Oxfam and other humanitarian agencies have been responding to emergency needs of refugees displaced from Blue Nile., Drawing on an independent review, this summary report reviews the speed and quality of Oxfam’s intervention in the first seven and a half months of 2012, and responds to questions raised by other humanitarian actors including UNHCR and MSF about its performance. The aim of this summary is to contribute to organisational learning on the implementation of humanitarian interventions. It acknowledges Oxfam’s achievements, but also addresses challenges about the nature of its response. The summary draws together key points to aid understanding of the context of this programme, and critically examines what Oxfam and others could do differently to deliver rapid, good-quality emergency WASH programmes in the future. It summarises findings from an independent review, and makes recommendations for policy and practice that could have enhanced the Maban response, and will help to improve the quality of further programmes by Oxfam and other agencies working in complex, fragile environments.

The Water and Sanitation Response for Vulnerable Populations in Lower Juba, Southern Somalia' targeted displaced people and those affected by drought, between 1st November 2007 and 31st July 2008. The project targeted 1,100 households in Afmadow District. It sought to meet humanitarian needs and strengthen livelihoods of ought stricken pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, and also to address vulnerability to future shocks through monthly cash grants. The final evaluation considered the relevance of the programme in the eyes of beneficiaries, analysed whether original objectives had been met, gauged the timeliness of the response, and identified the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the programme.

In the humanitarian coordination system of 'clusters', the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) cluster is widely acknowledged to be among the best functioning. This report, based on interviews conducted with more than 50 individuals with experience of the WASH cluster in more than 25 countries, focusses on evidence of improved humanitarian response from the WASH cluster and what helps or hinders improvement. On the whole, Oxfam staff felt that the WASH cluster had improved the effectiveness of humanitarian response, but that there was still much that could be done to improve the cluster. Their reflections may also be useful for other clusters.