Investing in Inclusive WASH

This report describes the implementation and findings of our research on the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in humanitarian Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (WASH) programming. The research was conducted between 2020 and 2021 in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The September 2018 Central Sulawesi earthquake triggered secondary hazard events of tsunami and liquefaction and affected 1.5 million people. Following an initial response by the Indonesian government, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed offers of international humanitarian assistance in October 2018.

In 2019, Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) launched a challenge to identify and generate evidence on the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in WASH programming in humanitarian action. The ongoing humanitarian response in Central Sulawesi provided a unique opportunity to respond to this challenge and contribute evidence to the humanitarian WASH sector.

This report begins by presenting a background summary, including the roles of our research partners. Chapter 2 describes our research aims, limitations and methods used for data collection and data analysis. Chapter 3 presents our
research findings, which are discussed in more detail in Chapter 4. Areas of opportunity for innovation to improve older age and disability inclusion in WASH are presented in Chapter 5. A list of key terms used in this report are defined and included above. Experiences from partnering with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in this research are available separately as ASB’s “Practical Guidelines for Co-researching with Persons with Disabilities”.