Institute for Sustainable Futures and Water for Women launch climate change & inclusive WASH course

A blue graphic tile with promoting this online course with a headline and computer icon

 

18 November 2022: Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt: Australia’s flagship water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program, Water for Women, and the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS-ISF) today launched a free online course to help build capacity in the global WASH sector to address the impacts of climate change.

The climate change and inclusive WASH online course is self-paced and designed to provide participants with a foundational understanding of the links between WASH, gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), and climate change, and build capacity to address climate impacts in WASH programming and service delivery at sub-national and local levels.

Launched on the Water Pavilion’s Climate, Water and Sanitation Solutions for Health and Sustainable Development Day, the course offers a practical means for WASH professionals to take action.

 

“There is enormous interest from the WASH sector in addressing climate change, however, WASH professionals often feel at a loss of where to even begin,” said UST-ISF’s Jeremy Kohlitz, an architect of the course. “We intend for this course to give WASH professionals a solid grounding on what they and their organisations can do to respond to the climate crisis.”

 

The course is delivered over four modules and covers an introduction to key climate change and GEDSI concepts, evidenced links between climate change, GEDSI and WASH drawing on research and the latest thinking in the field of global environmental change, as well as training on practical tools to assess and respond to climate impacts on WASH in socially inclusive ways. Throughout the course, participants also have the opportunity to share and hear others thoughts and experiences on climate change, GEDSI and WASH.

 

“We know what needs to be done to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals,” explains Water for Women Fund Manager, Dr Alison Baker. “This course is part of the ‘how’ we get there. Building the capacity of communities, systems and infrastructure to be climate-resilient is a complex task, but it can be done. Improved and inclusive WASH is critical to building communities that can respond to shocks and disasters such as climate change. However, WASH goes beyond disaster risk management and reduction of acute impacts to include anticipatory action, mitigation of, and adaptation to slow-onset chronic climate change.”

 

The course will be officially launched later this month. Students and WASH professionals, including civil society organisation program managers, project managers and WASH specialists, those with WASH responsibilities working in government (particularly  provincial and central government) or regional non-governmental organisations are encouraged to register now to be among the first cohort of the climate change and inclusive WASH online course graduates.

 

Register now 

 

A Water for Women logo along with sub-brand logo for the Learning Agenda theme of this resource, Building Climate Resilience

Now in its fifth year and extended until 2024, Water for Women brings depth of experience from 20 WASH projects and 13 research initiatives in 15 countries across South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Water for Women is bringing the voices and learning of the Asia Pacific region to COP27 to highlight how equitable WASH is a building block for a climate-resilient future.

Since 2018, Water for Women has directly benefited almost 3 million people across 15 Asia-Pacific countries – including more than 1.3 million women and girls, 1.3 million men and boys, 73,000 people with disability, and those attending the more than 700 schools and healthcare facilities now with improved access to WASH.

Water for Women is participating at COP27 as part of Australia – water partners for development, a collaboration with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Water Partnership.

Learn more: waterforwomenfund.org

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