Humanitarian Water Engineering: Priorities for Health in Humanitarian Emergencies

Today, more than 120 million people around the world are forcibly displaced and in need of urgent humanitarian assistance-the highest levels ever recorded in history. When people are displaced, the normal functioning of life falls away and everything becomes a matter of survival. People need protection, food, shelter, medicine, water-and providing these essentials is the central focus of humanitarian response efforts. In this seminar, Dr. Ali presents the fundamental role that water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) plays in controlling infectious diseases in emergencies and the work that his group at the Humanitarian Water Engineering Lab is doing to bridge the humanitarian and academic worlds and solve critical water and health challenges in emergencies. Through this presentation, Dr. Ali lays out a vision for the newly emerging field of Humanitarian Engineering and the role that all disciplines have to play in responding to the unprecedented and overlapping crises we face globally today.