As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect international development programming globally, effective communication and access to information within the aid community and with the public has never been more important. This is especially true in the water, sanitation and health (WASH) sector where country contexts vary widely in terms of infrastructure, cultural norms and access to disinfectants.

In October 2020, MSI communications and knowledge management experts co-organized a presentation and panel discussion broadcast by webinar to engage with key experts on the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s WASH guidance for managing COVID-19, and what it means for practitioners and USAID projects. Following a brief presentation by a Centers for Disease Control contributor to the guidance, panelists from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and two USAID WASH projects discussed programmatic changes they’ve made as a result of the guidance and how they’ve been able to access and provide relevant information to their in-country stakeholders.

The webinar was featured as a special interest session during the 2020 University of North Carolina Water and Health Conference. The virtual conference was well-attended, with almost 3,500 participants from 140 different countries. We were pleased to present this knowledge sharing event to the water and WASH communities.