Loughborough University and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff.

Médecins Sans Frontières learns how to provide crucial water, hygiene and sanitation interventions in emergency situations

Loughborough University has been praised by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for the valuable training it provides that equips teams with skills to better assist communities in emergencies.

#Lboroexperts banner.

Staff from MSF – the world’s leading humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation, also known as Doctors Without Borders – travelled to campus from Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Yemen, France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany for training earlier this month.

The group visited the Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) to learn how to identify, plan, implement and monitor water supply, hygiene and sanitation interventions that are required for the charity’s healthcare projects around the world.

The two-week course consisted of presentations, discussions and practical work which saw attendees assess water quality using specialist kits, work and repair different types of pumps, measure water flow and more.

The training aimed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of MSF’s key water, sanitation and logistics staff, who typically have to work in high pressured, emergency situations.

MSF and Loughborough University staff carrying out fieldwork into water sanitation in a stream.

The course saw the MSF team undertake a variety of practical work. 

Course Director Dr Lee Bosher, of the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, said: “We are delighted that MSF value the work of WEDC and the professional development of their fieldworkers by investing in this important training course.

“The training provided by WEDC helps MSF to improve the effectiveness of their responses to emergencies and disease outbreaks such as cholera, Ebola and malaria in some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian crises.”

As part of the visit, MSF facilitators also delivered sessions to Loughborough staff and students that looked at MSF in communities, the health structures the charity supports and new approaches in the organisation to water and sanitation related issues.

MSF has a long-standing partnership with the WEDC, which has been delivering the ‘Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for Health’ course for more than 25 years.

In the last 10 years, WEDC has trained over 250 MSF staff which Dr Bosher says is “testament to how highly valued the course is by the organisation”.

Biserka Pop Stefanija, WatSan (Water and Sanitation) Advisor at Medecins Sans Frontieres, commented: “The combination of training delivered by WEDC and MSF facilitators has shown to be rather educative for our field staff dealing with water and sanitation challenges in the projects they work in. This is based on follow-up of projects and staff performance after the training.

“We’d like to thank Loughborough University for delivering such an informative training course and we look forward to continuing working together in the future.”

For further information about the professional training provided by WEDC, contact Dr Bosher at L.Bosher@Lboro.ac.uk.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 19/39

Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2018 QS World University Rankings, top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey and named University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2018.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2019, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2019. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.

It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

Categories