Water Security Beyond Covid-19

Abstract

The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic could increase developing countries and development partners’ focus on water and WASH and trigger transformational change in some countries. The 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa increased the demand for safe water for prevention and treatment, and also increased development partners’ attention to WASH at the household and healthcare levels both during and after the outbreak . As the Covid-19 pandemic is still unfolding, it is not clear what the impact on developing countries or their water security will be. Consequently, there is a need to monitor how the pandemic unfolds and assimilate lessons learned. Interventions to strengthen water security should focus on four key areas: adequate water availability, acceptable water quality, water resource management, and affordable access to WASH. K4D helpdesk reports provide summaries of current research, evidence and lessons learned. This report was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development