Integrating WASH and Nutrition: A WASHplus Learning Brief

by Dan Campbell on July 30, 2015

Integrating WASH and Nutrition: A WASHplus Learning Brief, 2015. WASHplus.

WASHplus anticipates that interest in expanding the integration of WASH into nutrition programs will continue to grow over the next decade. Policy engagement is a vital step for integrating WASH and other interventions that impact nutrition programs. Having a national nutrition policy that recognizes the importance of WASH for nutrition outcomes paves the way for the development of integrated programming at all levels. Donors, governments, and implementers should endorse and support an integrated approach. Staff in both sectors needs skills and knowledge to effectively implement integrated programs. While enough evidence exists to support WASH and nutrition integration, more data is needed to demonstrate how and in which ways specific WASH mechanisms affect nutrition outcomes and determine which implementation modalities are most likely to lead to strong and sustained impact.

An integrated program should have a monitoring and evaluation framework with corresponding WASH and nutrition indicators. However, when WASH activities are integrated into an existing nutrition program, WASH indicators need to be added to the monitoring framework. Traditional WASH interventions focused on human excrement may need to be supplemented with new approaches to break the fecal-oral transmission cycle from animal feces, particularly in infants and young children.

WASHplus is working to explore these programmatic approaches along with appropriate monitoring frameworks. WASHplus anticipates that results from the integrated programming in Bangladesh, Mali, and Uganda will be validated and replicated in other countries. As more countries and development partners implement a range of integrated approaches, the evidence base will grow

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