In 2018, UNICEF contracted IOD PARC to develop the capacity assessment method for UNICEF’s WASH emergency preparedness and response in the East Asia and Pacific Regions.

This consultancy involved two main objectives. The first, to develop and test a methodology for assessing minimum standards of UNICEF’s internal and national/sub-national resilience and preparedness capacity. This included developing a roadmap that indicated critical gaps in UNICEF’s WASH coverage and examined linkages with broader WASH development programmes in selected high hotspot countries in the region.

The second, to document best practices in the region that could serve as “flagship models” on key humanitarian themes. These models were to serve as the impetus for improved preparedness andenhanced resilience across the WASH sector in the region and facilitate a move away from supply driven emergency response.

IOD PARC undertook field visits to Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar to support the development of a capacity assessment tool for UNICEF country offices in the region.

This tool allows UNICEF to assess their stakeholder’s capacity to respond to disasters and assess their preparedness in relation to WASH in emergencies, which will inform future decision-making on humanitarian funding for WASH in emergency situations. The IOD PARC team also used the new tool to assess the capacity and preparedness of country offices in the East Asia and the Pacific Regional Offices in relation to WASH in emergencies.