Funded by Elrha, and in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), British Red Cross and Lebanese Red Cross, Arup took a user-centred design approach to tackle this issue. They engaged with women and girls of different ages and physical abilities to understand their difficulties when using existing latrines and bathing areas in typical camp settings. WASH practitioners were also consulted to understand challenges when implementing facilities that seek to meet everyone’s needs.
Arup developed new designs for communal latrines and bathing facilities so girls and women can experience greater safety and dignity, even in difficult humanitarian contexts. One of the communal latrine designs was piloted at a refugee camp in Lebanon, feedback from users and practitioners has been collected to enhance the design.
The final output is a manual that provides guidance to WASH practitioners on implementing menstrual hygiene management and accessible emergency facilities. The manual also includes guidance to assess the needs of target communities and local site constraints. The British Red Cross is currently using the manual to train their Emergency Response Unit which deploys worldwide.
