A system approach to water, sanitation, and hygiene resilience and sustainability in refugee communities

Abstract

This study conducted an in-depth systematic review of literature to explore the context of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) sustainability and resilience in refugee communities. Our results indicate growing concerns, given the two-decade waiting period for refugees to achieve repatriation/integration into host communities, and the bulk of their accommodation is largely in the Global South. This makes the sustainability of WaSH increasingly complex and depends on understanding the roles and interdependences among the factors in each specific refugee camp, and recognizes that it is not ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions and the sustainability of one camp might not be suitable for other camps.