 Hello, colleagues. My name is Laura Madori, and I would like to warmly welcome you to a new episode of the podcast series, Talking Migration. This podcast series is brought to you by the Innovation and Knowledge Management Unit to share insights and content from the HQ and the field across different thematic areas. This is part three of a series we are doing on MCOF, the Migration Crisis Operational Framework, the IOM central reference for addressing the mobility dimension of crisis. To catch up with the series, I encourage you to listen to our first two episodes from our podcast series playlist. Today, we are very happy to welcome here and in our podcast, Antonio Torres, our global wash coordinator at the Quarters. And Saizen Sima, our wash project officer in Ukraine. We will speak about wash programming in IOM, particularly in the context of the Ukraine response. So very warm welcome to both of you, Antonio and Sima. Thanks for being with us. Within the 2021 MCOF addendum, water sanitation and hygiene commonly referred to in its abbreviation wash was reflected as a new sector of assistance. This is a recognition of the significant growth in IOM's wash programming since the previous 2012 MCOF. Critical as part of both humanitarian and transition recovery programs, IOM's wash activities in a trix fragile and crisis setting includes support to both immediate and long term and sustainable access to safe water and sanitation. Whilst promoting good hygiene practices, they reduce the risk of water related diseases transmission. Now, let's start with the podcast. And I would like to warmly welcome Antonio. So Antonio, the first question will be for you. So Antonio, can you please talk a little bit about how does the inclusion of wash as a new sector in the MCOF framework strengthen IOM response to the mobility dimension of crisis worldwide? Thank you very much, Laura, for the introduction. And going to your question, I would like to start by emphasizing the importance of wash in crisis response. Wash plays a critical role in saving lives. When people are on the move, they are more likely to face challenges in accessing clean water, safe, and dignified sanitation facilities and maintaining proper hygiene. And this limited access can have detrimental consequences, such as increased risk of disease, loss of lives, and disease transmission across communities. So beyond its life saving significance, wash serves as an enabler for IOM's response in various sectors, including health, education, shelter, as these sectors depend on essential inputs from wash to be functional. For instance, health facilities cannot operate without wash. Schools cannot support children without wash. And livable spaces cannot exist without access to wash. Additionally, it is essential to recognize that wash is not just about immediate relief, but it's also about preventing crisis from worsening. For example, plays a pivotal role in preventing the outbreak of waterborne diseases, which could further exacerbate an already challenging situation. Now, in addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by migration-related crisis, the integration of wash services between ENCOF is important, taking into account that access to clean water and sanitation stands as a fundamental human right, in which wash services play a crucial role in maintaining public health and preventing water-related and communicable diseases of breaks. Migrants and displaced populations are among the most vulnerable groups, often compelled to depend on fragile infrastructure, facing limited access to services, and living in densely populated and unsanitary conditions where diseases can easily spread. These vulnerable groups are at the center of a water and sanitation crisis, which is influenced by changing water availability, the human mobility, and climate change. Conflict, violence, and climate-related events, such as droughts or floods, can disrupt seasonal migration routes, impacting pastoralist communities, also disrupting settled communities, driving new migration and triggering additional ways of displacement, even between already displaced settings. So the inclusion of wash in the ENCOF recognizes the link between water migration and public health and considers that wash can actually build synergies between acute and complex emergencies, humanitarian crisis, and long-term development responses. Using water sanitation and hygiene interventions as an entry point for delivering basic needs, IOM can simultaneously strengthen governance and institutional capacity, create jobs, and contribute to conflict prevention and conflict resolution. Furthermore, incorporating wash in the ENCOF framework aligns harmoniously with established international humanitarian and human rights law and humanitarian standards, ensuring the fulfillment of essential requirements during emergencies, and upholding human dignity and overall well-being of crisis-affected communities. Thanks. Hello, Antonio. I think it's very clear the point that you made. Of course, access to clean water sanitation is a fundamental human right, but also wash is a key enabler in ensuring that other services can be provided, but also ensuring the other key sector can function properly through the wash system as well. So we want to dive a little bit deeper on that aspect, and we wanted to ask if you can offer your insight regarding the integration of wash within the ENCOF framework and how this further strengthened the synergies with other sector that you started elaborated upon, and also how this approach also ensure a comprehensive and coordinating strategy for addressing the decent wash needs of affected population, and how does this contribute to the facilitation of durable solutions? OK, so to address the first part of your question, the integration of wash within the ENCOF framework aligns with IAM's commitment to a comprehensive and coordinated approach for responding to the mobility dimension of crisis, which expand humanitarian development, peace, and migration spheres. And this integration is the result of a collaborative effort across sectors to provide a holistic and mutually reinforcing response to the distinct needs of affected populations and fragile context. And as I mentioned before, access to clean water and sanitation is a fundamental human right. And at the heart of this integration, among other sectors, lies the recognition that wash services cannot be viewed in isolation. They are closely interconnected with vital sectors such as health, shelter, protection, nutrition, and food security. For instance, close coordination with the health sector ensures that clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in homes along mobility corridors and health care facilities contribute to infection prevention and control, which is crucial for this prevention. Simultaneously, collaboration with the nutrition sector promotes better nutrition and health outcomes by reducing the risk of diarrheal diseases, which is a leading cause of poor nutrients absorption, especially in children. And the synergy among these three sectors ultimately leads to healthier populations. Likewise, the collaboration with shelter and protection sector ensures the inclusion of appropriate sanitation facilities in living spaces, preserving the dignity and privacy of affected populations. So in response to the second part of the question, this coordinated approach expands to promoting durable solutions. Firstly, I have already worked across a range of sectors, but often, and I think even increasingly, we are hearing IDPs say that they cannot return to areas of origin due to lack of water to meet their household needs or support their former livelihoods. Secondly, integrating our WASH programming with IOM's work in other sectors can have a multiplier effect and help to strengthen our impact. For instance, employing cash-based interventions to facilitate water access and partnering with water utility providers inject resources into local economies, thereby improving living conditions and fostering economic stability. Equitable access to these services further promotes social cohesion, reducing conflicts that might arise from resource inequalities. In this regard, WASH interventions between the MCOF not only address immediate concerns but also play a pivotal role in enhancing livelihoods, economies, and peace between communities. This approach enables IOM to address the root causes of displacement, ensuring assistance for people in the move, irrespective of their status, and supporting the coordination among humanitarian, development, and peace actors to enhance prevention and yearly warning mechanisms as well to mitigate the risk of public health crisis through safe and sustainable WASH services. With an emphasis in community resilience, participation, and ownership. Thanks a lot, Antonio, for describing this multi-faceted approach that is linked to the WASH within the MCOF framework and especially the fact that WASH is not only address the immediate concerns of population but also support long-term livelihoods and this key also to prevent health care issues. So now that we have a little bit to the global picture and how WASH is integrated in the MCOF framework, we would like to dive a little bit deeper into the experience of Ukraine with our colleague Sema. Very nice to have you here, Sema. Thanks for being with us. So it would be good to see if you can explain to us your experience on applying the WASH approach within the MCOF framework in the crisis response in Ukraine. Thanks. Thank you for having me, Laura. I'm very happy to share my thoughts and experiences on this podcast. So I must say that the integration of WASH within the MCOF holds a really significant importance in addressing the complex cross-cutting challenges and advancing equitable access to essential services such as the access to water, which we have already mentioned, that is a basic human right. So for the cross-cutting elements emphasized by the MCOF, encompassing gender equality, protection mainstreaming, and adaptation to climate change, these are all particularly relevant in the context of Ukraine, where the migration context is multifaceted, as we all know. So for instance, through the lens of gender, we have tailored and planned WASH interventions to meet the distinct needs of women, girls, boys, and men, ensuring inclusiveness and sensitivity to diverse vulnerabilities. So moreover, we have adopted this through distributing caregiving kits. These are customized versions of hygiene kits for the elderly or the bedridden population. This ensures that even the most vulnerable individuals receive specialized care and support within the migration context. So furthermore, the integration of WASH services within the MCOF has enabled us to align our WASH programming with evidence-based approaches, promoting accountable and responsible service provision. So the MCOF's emphasis on accountability to affected populations and transparency has enabled us to engage with the local communities and migrants themselves. We incorporate their insights and preferences into our interventions. For example, we have QR codes on some of our relief items that we provide, and through this, we are able to gather feedback directly from the people we serve. So this kind of participatory approach fosters a sense of ownership and ensures that our services cater to the actual needs of the population, which holds the significant importance in Ukraine, where the urban environment and diverse population dynamics pose distinct challenges. Thanks a lot, Sima. It's so important, this participatory approach that you are talking about and the gender sensitivity of including special needs of women, men, youth and children in the whole approach. Now, since you mentioned a little bit of the situation in Ukraine, we would like to understand more, and if you can please share with us what has been the role that MCOF has played in facilitating wash services within an urban context like Ukraine, distinguishing it from other contexts that we have worked in. Yes, so the MCOF recognizes collaboration as a very key operational approach and this enables a more effective response. So working in an urban context like Ukraine, we have a favorable enabling environment. The MCOF has enabled us build strong relationships with the water utilities. These are also known as water canals in Ukraine. So we base our response based on our relationships with these utilities to restore functionality and to sustain the existing municipal water and wastewater systems. So additionally, we have a thriving private sector and access to modern technologies because of obviously the presence of Ukraine in the region close to Europe. So we have leveraged the emphasis of MCOF on adapting climate change through focusing on innovative renewable energy options such as micro hydropower generation as well as technologies promoting energy efficiency such as cogeneration power plants. So reflecting on my work in other contexts, for example, Northwest Syria where I worked, I see similarities in the relevance of MCOF in guiding wash programming within IOM. In our cross-border response to the crisis in Northwest Syria, we relied heavily on our collaboration with local and government organizations that served as our implementing partners in the absence of a function of functional state actors to deliver humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced persons. So our response strategically incorporated each of the MCOF's cross-cutting issues like I already mentioned before. Guided by IOM's humanitarian needs assessment program, the HNAP, we worked towards creating gender sensitive and dignified living conditions for internally displaced populations who had the opportunity to provide feedback through IOM's accountability to affected populations channel, the dialogue information and participation systems. Thanks a lot, Sima. I do see that in an urban setting like Ukraine, the approach that you just described to us and especially the private sector partnership are very interesting and can really support, as you said, also innovative solution like renewable energy options. And we certainly would like to know more in our next episode about those in more detail. Now, we are heading toward the end of the podcast but we would like to recap a little bit because you share both of you. Very interesting insights. So I would like to ask to Antonio, if you can please summarize for us or highlight for us the key takeaways that you would like our colleagues, our listener, to remember about the importance of wash within the MCOF framework and its role in addressing migration-related crisis effectively. Thank you, Laura, for this question. Well, then I think that ensuring equitable access to sustainable water and sanitation services, bearing it with hygiene promotion, are critical life-saving measures during crisis. Additionally, having strong wash capabilities is essential for delivering effectively in various sectors such as health, education, and shelter. Wash is also central to building resilience to future shocks and stressors. For example, through flood mitigation measures or through support to water governance to mitigate conflict over water. And this, I think, is an element of island wash programming which will grow even more over the coming years as the impacts of climate change grow more acute. The other point that I'd like to stress is that when we think about responding to crisis as IOM, we consider the interconnected nature of humanitarian development and peaceful needs and the importance of addressing these through a coherent approach across the triple nexus. Wash can build synergies between acute and complex emergencies. And recognizing wash between the handcuffs ensures that immediate needs are met and act as an entry point to lay the foundations for durable solutions and longer-term development efforts to address the root causes of crisis and fragility. Collaboration with various sectors, community engagement and alignment with the HDPN principles all underscore the importance of wash in promoting resilience, stability, and sustainable outcomes in the face of the complex migration challenges that we are facing. Thanks a lot, Antonio and Sima for this very enriching discussion. Now, before we close, we want to go into this last segment of our podcast which is the rapid fire questions. We like to always ask colleagues a more question on a more personal level to understand and to get to know our guests a little bit more. So I would like to start, maybe I'll start this time with Sima with this rapid question. So Sima, are you more a thinker or a doer? That's an interesting question, Laura. I would say I would be tempted to say that I'm both but actually I would emphasize that I am a doer. I like to get things done because especially in the context we are working in in this humanitarian context you really have to get your hands on ground. Your hands have to get banned sometimes and you learn from the process and then you incorporate some of your lessons learned into your work. So I would say I am more of a doer but also to learn throughout the process of doing and be able to address future similar challenges. Thanks a lot, Sima, for being an action oriented colleague but also the loves learning. Now, over to you, Antonio. What are you, a thinker or a doer or something else? I think that I need to be a thinker and a doer to fulfill my role, my role as a coordinator for WASH, globally but also my role as a father and my role as a community member. Both of them are equally important and I think that I have a space in both of them. I tend to think that. Very good. And now a practical question for our new camera I am colleagues to you, Sima again. What advice would you give to someone on the first day at IOM? Well, on the first day I would definitely tell my new colleague to first of all focus on their motivation, why they joined the organization and try to identify synergies with the IOM vision or that particular team's strategy because IOM is a very big organization and it's very easy to get lost into so many things. So I would say just know your motivation and have that at the back of your mind as you do the so many tasks that will be assigned to you. Thanks a lot, Sima. Definitely motivation is key for success and to keep our focus going. And what about you, Antonio? What advice would you give to IOM colleagues on their first days of assignment? Oh, I think that my advice will be on prioritizing teamwork. I'm trying to learn from those who are experiencing the field. Those are the two more important recommendations that I will give to anyone entering into IOM. Very good teamwork, we definitely need that and we need to be able to always collaborate within everything that we do in the organization. Now a question to close, a question to get to know, you know, to get to know you more in a deeper sense, maybe a more philosophical question even. So Sima, what is your most important wish in this life? What should absolutely happen for this life to be truly fulfilled? So I will have to answer this two-fold, one as a wash officer and another as me. So as a wash officer, my most important wish is that we all have access to climate resilient and smart wash services. So we, you know, it's our motivation and this is anyway why we are working hard in IOM. But anyway, as me, I think my most important wish would be to live in a world without conflict. As you know today, the world is really faced with so many crises. So my wish would be that we live in an environment where we are living in peace, where we have good health and well-being and we are able to explore, everyone is able to explore their potential. And in this way, I think the world would be in a better place and we would live happier lives. Thanks Sima, I really love that, like I'm living in a peaceful and conceiving environment to explore our potential. Now, over to you, Antonio, what is your most important wish in this life and what really needs to happen for this life to be so fulfilled? I think I'm going to copy a little bit of the shape of the response that Sima did. One part is that one important wish for me is that everyone can access to clean water and sanitation services, no? Water and sanitation for all without restrictions, yeah? It's a little bit ambitious, but why not to think? And that's also part of my professional drive, yeah? And complimenting that and having a second part of your question, I'd also like to say that I would like to be able to do a good job and I wish to have good life and work balance that allow me to fulfill my professional aspirations but also my life wishes, no? And spend time with family. Very good. And definitely water and sanitation for all. This should be our slogan going forward and very good also to find this personal and professional balance to fulfill all that we want to accomplish in this life. So thank you so much for this super interesting podcast both Sima and Antonio. And thank for your time, colleagues, and for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share with your peers and to learn more about EMCOV and WASH, you can visit the EMCOV SharePoint site and to access good practices and lesson learn and innovative initiatives across different thematic areas at IOM. Please visit the Peer Exchange and Learning on Migration platform known as POEM platform at poem.ioem.int. You can also access the WASH community or practice on the POEM platform. So thanks a lot to all of you and we see each other in the next episode.