October 2023 marked the five-year point for the Jengu project! To mark the occasion, we joined together at Arup in London and online internationally to hear latest thinking from the WASH community and share achievements so far. It was also a chance to discuss how to increase effective handwashing for fragile communities and humanitarian emergencies. With involvement from a growing cohort of collaborators and organisations, the ‘Jengu – Hand Hygiene in Reach’ event coincided with Global Handwashing Day.
Aarin Palomares of the Global Handwashing Partnership joined from the US. She highlighted the vital importance of effective handwashing to reduce the prevalence of life-threatening disease and enhance wellbeing within the ever-increasing humanitarian emergencies prevalent today.
Stephen Philips of Arup in London provided insights from the Jengu design development and local manufacturing process. He explained the processes and design considerations necessary to make an innovative product like Jengu locally or centrally and showed how local making promotes local skills and enterprise. Jengu allows local repair, parts replacement and reuse to extend its lifespan.
Sarah Sabry, Urban Global Lead at Save the Children and founder of the Global Alliance Cities4Children in Zurich presented the outcomes of Jengu’s effectiveness study in Nairobi’s fragile communities. She highlighted the importance of impactful partnerships when planning and implementing effectiveness projects in fragile contexts.
The Elrha funded Jengu effectiveness study is well under way in the refugee settlements of Dadaab in Kenya and Kyangwali in Uganda. Research Scientist Sheillah Simiyu of the African Population Health and Research Centre presented progress so-far. Her fascinating talk, delivered online from Nairobi showed how the project will assess Jengu’s effect on handwashing with soap for the displaced communities living in the two settlements.
An insightful panel discussion, moderated by Caroline Sugg from BBC Media Action featured panellists Alexanda Machado of the IFRC in Geneva, Ruth Salmon from Elhra and Robert Aunger, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The panel explored the systemic barriers and enablers for effective handwashing and how we can innovate to scale with Robert reflecting that ‘Innovation is the solution for the WASH sector’.
An interactive workshop session allowed delegates to explore how to increase the availability of effective hygiene innovations like Jengu for displaced communities and address a growing need. Several hand washing solutions for different situations were demonstrated including Jengu and Oxfam’s Handwashing Stand. The event outcomes will help the project team to plan the next steps.
