Climate Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Safe drinking water, basic sanitation facilities and services, good hygiene and a clean-living environment are essential not only for survival, but also to living a healthy life with dignity.
In 2024,
837.000
people gained access to clean water
In 2024,
403.000
gained access to sanitation services
NCA contributes to the equitable, inclusive and sustainable management of all resources related to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through this programme. This is essential to achieving several of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as addressing the human right to water and sanitation.
Related Sustainable Development Goals
Key Challenges and Structural Barriers
Climate-Driven Water Scarcity and Variability
Increasing droughts, floods, and unpredictable rainfall patterns reduce access to safe water sources, especially in vulnerable communities.
Inadequate Sanitation Infrastructure
Inadequate or absent sanitation systems expose communities to waterborne diseases and environmental degradation. Poor sanitation services also contribute to malnutrition in children under the age of five, which can lead to stunted growth and long-term health consequences.
Limited Community Resilience and Preparedness
Many communities lack the capacity, resources, or knowledge to adapt WASH systems to climate shocks and long-term environmental changes.
Gender and Social Inequities in WASH Access
The absence or scarcity of sanitation services, both in quantity and quality, significantly affects school attendance, particularly among girls. Limited access to these services disproportionately impacts women and girls, as well as marginalised groups, who often bear the brunt of inadequate WASH provisions. They face increased health risks, safety concerns and time burdens as a result.
Weak Governance and Institutional Capacity
Fragmented policies, underfunded institutions, and lack of coordination hinder the development and sustainability of climate-resilient WASH systems.
Insufficient Integration of Climate Risk in WASH Planning
WASH programs often fail to incorporate climate risk assessments, leading to short-term solutions that are vulnerable to future climate impacts.
NCA’s Strategic Approach: Save Lives, Build Resilience, Seek Justice
Save Lives: Humanitarian WASH services in crisis settings
NCA ensures that crisis-affected people access lifesaving water, sanitation, and hygiene services that are appropriate to their immediate needs and context.
- Provide safe, inclusive, and accountable WASH services in line with international humanitarian standards.
- Respond rapidly through in-country teams, partners, and global emergency rosters.
- Deliver WASH services that uphold dignity and reduce public health risks.
- Co-respond with national partners to ensure contextual relevance and sustainability.
- Participate actively in the WASH Cluster at global, regional, and national levels.
Seek Justice: Rights-based advocacy for equitable WASH access
NCA and partners empower people to claim their rights to water, sanitation, and hygiene.
- Support civil society organisations to engage with authorities and influence policy.
- Advocate for inclusive and equitable WASH policies at national and regional levels.
- Link WASH advocacy to broader work on peacebuilding, gender justice, and inequality.
- Promote accountability and transparency in WASH service delivery.
- Elevate the voices of affected communities in decision-making processes.
Collaborating with Faith Actors and Civil Society
NCA’s work is guided by a strong commitment to leaving no one behind. This means shifting attention towards those who remain unreached by existing investments in WASH services. Faith actors and civil society play a vital role in this effort. Their ability to engage both marginalised communities and decision-makers makes them key contributors to inclusive service delivery. NCA and its partners strengthen local capacity to hold duty-bearers accountable and support authorities in developing sustainable, locally owned strategies.
In contexts marked by inequality and fragility, NCA’s approach ensures that those with limited or no access to WASH services can influence decisions that affect them. Poorer households often pay more for lower-quality services, both in relative and absolute terms. NCA’s presence across all levels of society, as a faith-based actor, enables it to address the political and institutional barriers that perpetuate water scarcity and exclusion. This rootedness allows for meaningful engagement with governance structures to tackle the root causes of unequal access to safe water and sanitation.
Related cases
A newly concluded three-year project (2022 – 2024) in Haiti has improved access to water, sanitation and climate resilience for thousands of people.
Why
The project aimed to ensure access to safe, affordable and sustainable drinking water. It also sought to improve sanitation and hygiene practices for public health, strengthen community resilience to climate-related disasters and promote climate-smart agriculture through improved water access.
How
It was implemented in 16 communities in Grand Anse and the South Department. Norwegian Church Aid delivered the project with funding from the Norwegian Embassy. The approach combined direct service delivery with awareness-raising and capacity-building, and included monitoring and follow-up in the final year.
What
As a result, 44,572 people gained access to drinking water. A total of 12,988 people accessed sanitation services, and 82.5 percent of the population now practises handwashing with soap. In addition, 36,318 people received training on disaster risk reduction. A total of 311 food producers, including 131 women and 180 men, adopted climate-smart agriculture.
In all countries where Norwegian Church Aid works, the population experiences weather and climate-related disasters such as droughts, floods, strong winds and heat waves.
Norwegian Church Aid has integrated disaster risk reduction measures into the planning and implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene projects. We work with preventive strategies to avert or reduce risk, as well as preparing for when disasters strike.
Incontinence is a condition where an individual is unable to control their bladder and/or bowel, and where they leak, either urine, or faeces, or both. A wide range of people live with incontinence and it has significant impacts on their physical and mental health and their caregivers. In humanitarian contexts, access to basic facilities and services is often difficult and challenges in managing this distressing condition, are greatly multiplied.
NCA undertook a mapping survey between July - December 2022: Mapping of Support for People Living with Incontinence in Humanitarian Contexts; Through the lens of WASH, Gender-Based-Violence (GBV) and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH)”.
This mapping is the first of its kind globally, focusing on support for people living with incontinence in humanitarian contexts. It is a foundational study, which had contributions from representatives from 23 agencies, and found a range of action across agencies, sectors, and contexts, as well as multiple gaps and challenges. The outputs document a range of findings and case studies, which vary by agency, sector, focus and country context; and practical recommendations:
a) 10 overview recommendations; b) For NCA programmes; c) For global humanitarian actors (GHAs) by sector.
The outcome of the mapping was a set of 4 documents: