WASH in Emergencies 2025

Course Description

In the 3-day course "WASH in Emergencies" you will receive a comprehensive overview on the field of WASH in humanitarian and transitional assistance, technical and non-technical options of intervention as well as specifics and challenges in the WASH sector. The course covers the basics of humanitarian assistance in the WASH sector, including the related humanitarian principles and WASH standards. Approaches and technologies for water, sanitation and hygiene provision in humanitarian crisis settings will be presented and you will discuss WASH-specific project planning approaches and cooperation structures in humanitarian aid. Experienced speakers from the German WASH network and external experts will give technical inputs and contribute up-to-date practical examples to the course.

The training is part of aha's certification scheme and can be credited towards a Certificate of Advanced Studies in "Foundations of Humanitarian Action". Staff of Aktion Deutschland Hilft member organizations can apply for reimbursement of the course fee. Please note: The course language is English or German depending on the participants. Materials will be provided in English. Individual sessions by international speakers may be only feasible in English.

You will learn...

• about the basics of WASH, humanitarian principles and WASH minimum standards
• a practical overview of technical and non-technical intervention options in the field of WASH
• about global coordination structures and project examples from various humanitarian interventions worldwide

Time and Location

The course will take place on 14, 15, and 16 October 2025 at the Akademie der Ruhr-Universität, located at Suttner-Nobel-Allee 4, 44803 Bochum. On 14 October, the training will begin at 10am (CET). On 15 and 16 October, it will start at 9am. Each day, the course will finish at 5:30pm. A detailed schedule can be found on the course page.

Target Group

The course is primarily for professionals and NGO staff working or intending to work in the field of WASH in humanitarian aid. In addition, depending on the number of registrations, the course is also open to students, job seekers, volunteers, freelance consultants and people from the private sector.

Trainer

The training will be led by Thorsten Reckerzügl and Lorenz Ewers.

Thorsten Reckerzügl is Senior Project Coordinator of the WASH Capacity Development and the German Toilet Organization (GTO). He has more than 20 years of professional experience in international development cooperation and humanitarian action. He has worked for 12 years as a program officer, technical officer and executive director for various non-governmental organizations in Germany and Switzerland and has 10 years of experience as a technical expert and project and program manager for water, sanitation, hygiene, environmental and climate protection and reconstruction projects in South and Southeast Asia. Reckerzügl also publishes in this field (11 technical publications).

Lorenz Ewers works as Global Emergency and Logistic Officer at arche noVa. His work focuses on emergency response, WASH, logistics, capacity development, DRR and coordination in different contexts (Bosnia, Germany, Nepal, Ecuador, Indonesia, and others). He is co-author of the global WASH sector foundational publications "Compendium of Water Supply Technologies in Emergencies" and "Compendium of Hygiene Promotion in Emergencies". In addition, he has experience in the coordination, design, implementation and content monitoring of "WASH in Emergencies" regional workshops and "WASH in Emergencies" workshops in Germany and has conducted numerous trainings and lectures on various topics (water supply, logistics, etc.) within and outside his own organization.