The overall aim of Oxfam’s WASH response in emergencies is to minimize public health risks in relation to water, sanitation and hygiene. This means working more directly with a wide range of people affected by the crisis to better understand them, to motivate them to make positive behaviour changes, and to strengthen their capacity to reduce/prevent public health risks and make their own decisions. We call this work community engagement. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, community engagement is now more relevant than ever. 

The following guides have been produced to provide greater clarity around community engagement in WASH, to explain how the approach is different to previous ways of working (rather than entirely new), and to deliver straightforward guidance around how to implement community engagement in emergency response programmes.

On this page you can: 

• download the two-page overview: What is Community Engagement (CE) in WASH?
• download the guide: Supporting Quality Community Engagement in WASH Programming.

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the video: Community Engagement in WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) – how it works in practice.