Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

The WABES programme is a 4.5‑year (2022-2026) applied research and capacity‑development initiative on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Eawag’s Sandec Department. It focuses on generating evidence, developing tools and strengthening professional capacity to support equitable, climate‑resilient water and sanitation services in low‑ and middle‑income countries.

WABES contributes directly to SDC’s Global Programme Water by addressing basic services in small towns, solid waste management, drinking water treatment and passive chlorination, faecal sludge management, and groundwater quality and modelling.

Outcome 1 is advancing safe drinking‑water services through applied research, evaluations and the development of analytical planning tools.

Key Activities

Evaluating solutions for providing safe drinking water at the point of consumption are evaluated
Developing and testing a methodology for a water flow diagram
Assessing the optimal degree of treatment decentralization for rural and small-town piped supplies
Understanding is enhanced on the association of community inclusion with successful establishment and sustainable operation of water treatment facilities
Providing recommendations for effective interventions for mitigating the effects of source switching on water supply functionality

Learn more: Optimizing Chlorination Arrangements for Piped Water Supplies in Rural Nepal

Outcome 2 is advancing faecal sludge management, sanitation technology performance and behaviour‑change strategies for solid waste management.

Key Activities

Exploring solutions for the dynamic operation of faecal sludge treatment with available resources.
Testing post-dewatering supernatant treatment technologies for dense urban areas.
Validating, documenting and disseminating prediction modelling of faecal sludge qualities and quantities (Q&Q)
Developing, validating, documenting and disseminating an approach for initiating and sustaining waste segregation developed, validated, documented and disseminated

Outcome 3 is building integrated, inclusive planning approaches for small towns, with a major focus on Uganda.

Key Activities

Analysing successful and unsuccessful examples of previous systematic attempts to plan WASH/SWM and other interacting sectors
Analysing existing barriers and enablers to integrated planning from a technical and political economy perspective in a specific context
Conducting a study baseline assessment with modelling of potential integration outcomes
Providing overview of existing planning and programming approaches and tools in WaSH/SWM and its applicability on integration in local contexts
Creating an integrated planning approach that combines WaSH/SWM including planning tool development
Validating a planning process application in small town context

Outcome 4 is supporting professional training, digital learning innovation and the dissemination of research outputs to practitioners and institutions.

Key Activities

Expansion and updating of the global WASH MOOC series and measuring the impact of MOOCs. This includes a refresh of the Water and Solid Waste Management MOOCS.
Supporting capacity development initiatives of partners in Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi and Sierra Leone, including university lectures, professional short courses and blended online–offline learning.
Developing and testing learning formats for development and humanitarian contexts such as AI‑generated subtitles, micro‑learning videos and offline-access content using BeekeeBox devices.
Developing and improving knowledge materials and their access for practitioners
Supporting knowledge brokerage through network development and targeted outreach

Learn more: WASH Learning Lab

Learn more: Knowledge Brokerage

WABES has a special focus on two towns in Uganda: Wobulenzi and Kakooge.