Landscape of WASH-relevant Training for Humanitarian Emergencies

Background: Both employed humanitarian personnel as well as those seeking to start a career as an aid worker are often provided with or seek training on the theme of humanitarian water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). The objective of this study was to conduct a landscaping exercise of the available WASH-relevant training for humanitarian emergencies. Methods: An open internet search was performed with specific terms related to humanitarian WASH. Retained search results included those training opportunities (including past ones) that were themed around or with a mentioned relevance to humanitarian WASH. Results and Discussion: A total of 42 training courses relevant to humanitarian emergency WASH were retained. In addition to the more generic/introductory trainings, some provided thematic variations such as coordination of WASH responses, project management, risk reduction, information, education and communication (IEC), and complex emergencies. Timely topics such as urban WASH, Ebola, and WASH innovations were also observed indicating the responsiveness of the training providers to the changing needs of humanitarian WASH response programmes. This survey also revealed a large variety in terms of target audience, duration, fees, location, and language of courses. There was no centralised listing of courses available on the Internet. Limitations of this exercise were also discussed.