MERL Tech – an event exploring the use of technology for monitoring, evaluation research and learning – is coming to London for the first time in February 20-21st 2017. Hosted at the St Brides Foundation by Oxfam and Comic Relief, we are calling for practitioners to submit session ideas and to sign up to attend and become part of our …
Thinking outside the baseline
Dustin Barter takes us through Oxfam’s baseline management for a Durable Peace Programme in Myanmar and lays out how, this time, our approach was so different to the status quo. llocate some funding, get a consultant to collect data and write a report, and there you have it, baseline done. Share it with the donor and if they’re happy, contract …
Women leading in the peace
According to World Bank estimates of September 2016, two billion people live in countries where development outcomes are affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. By 2030, the share of global poor living in fragile and conflict-affected situations is projected to reach 46 per cent. Caroline Sweetman, Editor of Gender & Development, introduces us to the theme of gender in fragile …
Tigers in the toilet
Could the Tiger Toilet be a long lasting sanitation solution for refugee camps? We think it could be. anitation is a huge priority for Oxfam as we seek cost effective, appropriate and durable solutions for the many different contexts we operate in – humanitarian camps, following natural disaster and conflict, rural and urban environments. For many people across the world, …
The forgotten nexus of sanitation, hygiene & water: Is this the inhibitor to progress?
In the lead-up to World Toilet Day, Oxfam’s Katie Whitehouse looks at how water, sanitation, hygiene and development are connected. n the 1800s, towns and cities across the world, including London, were battling cholera epidemics. Before John Snow published his theory in 1849 that cholera was a waterborne disease, efforts to manage poor sanitation and hygiene were minimal. The realisation …
Making standards practical is critical to sanitation innovation for rapidly expanding urban areas in developing countries
WASH solutions can only implemented when they work in context. Coming up to World Toilet Day, Katie Whitehouse explains why, in some cases, standards may not be achievable. ontainer based sanitation social enterprises are pushing the boundaries in decentralised sanitation management and yet continue to be classified as an unimproved form of sanitation. There are social enterprises – Sanivation, SOIL, …
The dilemma of managing toilets
Where there are no sewers to connect to, we need to find other ways to manage waste. Here Katie Whitehouse looks at some of the issues that come with having a functioning toilet. t is pretty terrible that in 2016 over 2.4 billion people still do not have access to a toilet (even a basic pit latrine). A toilet seems …
Toilet access is dominating programme delivery but what is the point of building more toilets if we cannot manage them?
Tomorrow is World Toilet Day and here, Katie Whitehouse looks at how building a toilet isn’t the end of the story and we need sustainable approaches to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Building a toilet and marking it as a metric achieved is relatively easy. Building a toilet and ensuring that it is continuously serviced and the waste collected transported …
Wanted! MEL specialist on fragile and conflict affected contexts
Marta Arranz reflects over the role of monitoring and evaluation in fragility and conflict programming and talks about a new exciting role in Oxfam GB. onitoring, evaluation and learning is a vital part of Oxfam’s work in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. We’re looking for a creative, experienced technical specialist to push our thinking and practice on monitoring Evaluation and Learning …
Responding to our toilet duties: An important subject!
Sanitation in emergency contexts must consider a diverse range of social, environmental, cultural and economic parameters. Jenny Lamb explores what this means for Oxfam and for Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practitioners more broadly. From the Haiti earthquake in Port-au-Prince to the refugee crisis in Ethiopia and the displacement of communities in South Sudan every new situation presents us with challenges. …