The full complement of staff and students in Water-WISER travelled to the US (North Carolina) for the annual UNC Water and Health conference.

This leading international conference for the sector also brought together various groups of collaborators integrated with Water-WISER student projects, including the FCDO, KIAT, WHO/JMP/GLAAS projects on climate resilient WASH and WASH Systems Strengthening. Through being involved in development of side events, several Water-WISER students have been interacting with, and influencing, senior staff at organisations such as the World Health Organisation. Interactions included building ‘side events’ i.e. themed workshops involving delegates and collaborators from across the globe.

Side events included:

• Jamie Myers: Designing sanitation programmes for challenging contexts: Principles, considerations, practical examples and recommendations
• Claire Grisaffi 1: Regulating Faecal Sludge Emptying and Transport: A participatory case-study based workshop to explore stakeholder perspectives
• Claire Grisaffi 2: How can low-income countries maximize infrastructure investments in FSM services? Lessons from Bangladesh
• Spurthi Kolipaka: Transitioning from basic to safely managed water and sanitation services: systemic drivers and implications