Coronavirus
We’re hearing from our colleagues around the world of the likely impact of the virus on the poorest communities, who will be ill-equipped to cope. With many living in overcrowded settlements in unsanitary conditions, social distancing will be almost impossible in places where access to soap and water for handwashing was already limited.
Practical Action’s view of the response to the Coronavirus pandemic combines three stages, to help people prepare for, withstand and recover from the impact of the virus:
1. Limit the spread. Protect the lives of vulnerable people by improving access to handwashing facilities and improving sanitation.
2. Keep essential services running. Ensuring that water, sanitation and waste systems continue and food supply chains remain intact.
3. Support longer term recovery. Making cities and rural setting cleaner, safer places to live, and supporting economic recovery.
Explore our resources
All of our resources are from Practical Action Publishing, Practical Answers Information hub, Health Books International, and our partners to support organisations through each of these stages. Please share them and use them freely.
Limit the spread

Fact Sheet (800 kB)
Rainwater Harvesting
This technology is used in places where conventional water supply systems are not provided, are too expensive, or fail t...

Fact Sheet (281 kB)
SODIS - Solar Water Disinfection in Sri Lanka
This document looks at a simple way to make water safe to drink by using plastic bottles....

(97 kB)
WASH Toolkit
Launched by IRC in 2016, this growing repository includes tools and guidance for strengthening water, sanitation and hyg...

Manual (5 MB)
A Practical Guide for Building a Simple Pit Latrine
A step by step guide to the construction and use of a simple toilet....
Keep essential services running

Manual (6 MB)
Making the Right Choice: Comparing Your Rural Water Technology Options
This guide is intended for those planning the development of basic rural water supply systems and seeks to provide the k...

Case Study (16 MB)
Breaking Barriers in Water and Sanitation Service Delivery to Informal Settlements
Case studies of the Mukuru model in Kenya...

Fact Sheet (626 kB)
Home Composting Systems
This technical brief describes about different home composting methods and use of home composting bins in detail....

(461 kB)
Agenda for change : a district level roadmap for universal access to sustainable WASH services
This document describes how the principles and practice of the global movement, Agenda for Change (A4C), can be applied ...
Supporting long term recovery

Presentation (541 kB)
Lessons Learned in Urban Community Led Total Sanitation from Nakuru, Kenya
A presentation for the 38th WEDC Conference on key lessons from Practical Action's Urban CLTS work in Nakuru with the Um...

(71 kB)
Towards systemic change in urban sanitation
In an increasingly urbanising world, with some 863 million people living in informal urban settlements in 2012 (based on...

Case Study (2 MB)
Local voices, Global choices: For Successful Disaster Risk Reduction
This report contains a number of case studies from around the world. Together with the short film project ‘ Local voic...

Article
Transgender-inclusive sanitation: insights from South Asia
This paper provides insights from initiatives to include transgender people in sanitation programming in South Asia. Thr...
Publishing
Knowledge Centre
The latest news and views on the...
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