Public health and WASH

Due out: June/July 2021

Deadline for submissions: 1st March 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore some of the challenges relating to public health and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), and the many factors involved. This issue of FMR – to be published in June 2021 – will explore public health and WASH in contexts of displacement, including a focus on the response to and reduction of the risk of epidemics and pandemics. We welcome submissions relating specifically to COVID-19 but also strongly seek to explore policy and practice in public health/WASH affecting displaced populations more broadly.

This issue of FMR will provide a forum for affected communities, practitioners, policymakers and researchers to explore challenges, share good practice, highlight innovations and offer recommendations. In particular, the FMR Editors are looking for practice-oriented submissions, reflecting a diverse range of experience and opinions, which address topics such as the following:

  • Monitoring, addressing and mitigating public health risks in contexts of displacement – in emergencies (including on the move), protracted situations, and in urban or rural contexts.
  • Community engagement in public health and WASH services: participation in design, maintenance and running of facilities and services.
  • Inclusion of displaced persons in national public health/WASH systems and in planning and monitoring around health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Communication, awareness-raising and use of ICT in public health, including alert systems, registration, monitoring, public health messaging, provision of translation and interpreting, and use of social media and other digital channels.
  • Data gathering, interpretation and sharing.
  • Identifying and addressing needs in provision of supplies, infrastructure, staffing and training.
  • Applying learning from the impact of and response to COVID-19 and epidemics such as cholera and Ebola in areas of preparedness, prevention and response.
  • The extent to which considerations of gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, language and ability to pay are taken into account in assessing vulnerabilities and protection needs relating to the provision of public health and WASH in contexts of displacement.

 

BEFORE WRITING YOUR ARTICLE: If you are interested in contributing, please email the Editors at fmr@qeh.ox.ac.uk with a few sentences about your proposed topic so that we can provide feedback and let you know if we are interested in receiving your submission. Do not send us articles that you have not discussed with us.

WHEN WRITING/SUBMITTING YOUR ARTICLE: Please take note of our guidelines for authors and ensure your article, when submitted, complies with our submission checklist: details at www.fmreview.org/writing-fmrWe do not accept articles that do not comply with our checklist.

Please note:

  • We ask all authors to give appropriate consideration to the particular relevance of their responses to persons with disabilities, to LGBTIQ+ persons, to older persons, and to other groups with specific vulnerabilities, and to seek to include a gendered approach as part of their articles. We also ask authors to consider, where appropriate, the impact of climate change in their analysis and recommendations.
  • While we are looking for examples of good, replicable practice and experience as well as sound analysis of the issues at stake, we also urge writers to discuss failures and difficulties: what does/did not work so well, and why?
  • We are particularly keen to reflect the experiences and knowledge of communities and individuals directly affected by this topic. If you have suggestions of colleagues or community representatives who may wish to contribute, please do email us; we are happy to work with individuals to help them develop an article and very keen to have displaced people’s perspectives reflected in FMR.

 

Deadline for submission of articles: 1st March 2021

Maximum length: 2,500 words (shorter articles welcome)