Report on the Humanitarian 2025 WASH Workshops

2025 edition of the WASH humanitarian workshops © Fondation Veolia

For 2 full days, the Wash de l’Humanitaire workshops bring together experts from the sector to discuss advances and technical challenges in water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) in humanitarian contexts.

Organised by the Veolia Foundation and the Partenariat français pour l’eau, these workshops are part of a field that is constantly evolving in the face of global crises that are increasing in number and duration, and claiming more and more civilian victims.

Bringing together experts to advance the humanitarian sector

The 3rd Ateliers Wash de l’Humanitaire brought together some sixty participants from a wide range of backgrounds:

NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Solidarités International, the French Red Cross, etc.
Private sector players
UN agencies such as the UNHCR
Water agencies, etc.

The diversity of the participants made for rich discussions and feedback between professionals involved in implementing sustainable solutions for access to water and sanitation in emergency situations.

The conferences addressed issues at the heart of the current challenges facing the humanitarian sector. Topics covered include wastewater treatment and reuse, waste management, optimising water networks and new technologies such as artificial intelligence applied to humanitarian contexts. Innovative devices such as the Saniforce 500 and the Reutbox are also on show, illustrating the sector’s exceptional advances in technology. Finally, the various players in the humanitarian sector offer feedback on their experiences in fields such as Gaza and Mayotte, sharing their solutions as well as the problems encountered on the ground.

Presentation of EPUR (a Veolia subsidiary) © Fondation Veolia

Technical innovations for humanitarian emergencies

The Saniforce 500: a revolution in sludge treatment and disinfection

The Saniforce 500 was designed by the Veolia Foundation for Humanitarian Emergencies to treat faecal sludge with low energy consumption. The Saniforce 500 is based on a digestion-pasteurisation process that deactivates pathogens by damaging their cells through the effects of temperature.

The process consists of pre-treatment with anaerobic digestion and post-treatment, during which the sludge is heated to 70 degrees for an hour using water heated by solar panels and the biogas recovered from the decomposition of the sludge. The digestate can then be reused as agricultural fertiliser, for example.

The Saniforce 500 is capable of treating 500 litres of sludge a day, with a 99.9% reduction in pathogens. It can be easily deployed and used by local teams.

Tested in Uganda in a refugee camp, the device aroused great interest among the audience. The discussions highlighted the need for training to ensure optimum use and safety, particularly in crisis situations.

2. The Reutbox: towards the reuse of wastewater

The Reutbox is an innovative solution developed to enable wastewater leaving treatment plants to be reused, particularly in humanitarian contexts. Developed by EPUR (a Veolia subsidiary), it is installed in a 10m³ container so that it can be deployed rapidly in the field. The Reutbox enables wastewater to be recycled at different quality levels depending on its intended use: agricultural irrigation, groundwater recharge, stadium irrigation, etc.

The wastewater undergoes a series of filtering and disinfection processes to obtain water that meets quality criteria ranging from A to D, according to current regulations. However, implementing this technology in a humanitarian context raises a number of challenges. The initial quality of wastewater is often highly variable, especially in emergency areas where water treatment infrastructures are often rudimentary or non-existent, and may require specific pre-treatment before being introduced into the Reutbox. The speakers therefore stressed the importance of carrying out preliminary studies on the quality of the water available, the availability of electricity and the need for regular maintenance of the equipment, before deploying a Reutbox in the field.

Despite these challenges, the Reutbox represents a considerable advance in the field of water treatment and recovery in humanitarian situations. Its potential for innovation is immense, particularly in reducing the pressure on water resources in areas where water is already a scarce resource.

The Reutbox at the WASH 2025 Humanitarian Workshops © Fondation Veolia

High-level technical debates revealing the evolution of the sector

Humanitarian aid is no longer limited to a simple emergency response aimed at bringing drinking water to populations in distress. While this mission remains essential, it is now accompanied by a much broader reflection on the sustainable management of resources, the efficiency of infrastructures and the environmental impact of operations.

Discussions between the various players at the workshops highlighted a vision based more on the long term, integrating sustainable solutions into operations, while taking account of local realities and technological developments. This desire to create robust and sustainable systems, capable of operating even after the NGOs have left, involves a number of approaches:

Optimising infrastructure: humanitarian organisations are developing water networks that are sustainably integrated into local communities.
Reducing losses and improving hydraulic efficiency: in refugee camps or disaster areas, the infrastructures put in place must be optimised to minimise wastage and ensure equitable access to water resources.
Innovation in water and sludge treatment: the development of technologies means that we can do more than simply supply drinking water. The solutions presented above, such as the Saniforce 500 and the Reutbox, demonstrate real investment by the sector in better management of water and sludge to improve local living conditions.

One of the major debates at the Wash Workshops focused on reverse osmosis, a technology that is effective in purifying brackish water but poses logistical and environmental challenges. Widely used in contexts such as Gaza, where water resources are extremely limited, it consumes a lot of energy and produces concentrated brine, the disposal of which can pose environmental problems. It is also complex to maintain, requiring spare parts that are often difficult to find locally.

Another point of discussion concerned the remineralisation of treated water. Reverse osmosis removes almost all minerals, which can cause nutritional problems if the water is consumed over the long term. Some NGOs are testing alternative solutions, such as solar evaporation, but these are still limited in capacity. The experts at the Wash Workshops therefore stressed the need to train humanitarian teams and develop hybrid solutions that are better adapted to the realities on the ground.

Ateliers Eau & Assainissement © Fondation Veolia

New challenges for humanitarian aid: waste management and the integration of artificial intelligence

The humanitarian sector is facing growing challenges such as hazardous waste management and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into field operations.

The question of waste, long put aside, is becoming a critical issue with the increase in technological equipment used in humanitarian operations. Electronic waste, used batteries, oils and plastics are accumulating without any suitable recycling channels, posing a major environmental problem. During the workshops, MSF and the Veolia Foundation presented their efforts to structure local solutions, favoring local dismantling and recovery, to avoid systematic, costly and complex export.

Indeed, local solutions such as dismantlers, recyclers and cement plants capable of destroying used oils are widely available. However, a number of questions remain unanswered, notably concerning the criteria set at the outset, which cannot always be met in the field. Here we see the limits of the criteria when faced with the reality of the field. Likewise, there is still no recycling solution for certain types of waste, such as lithium batteries and LEDs.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is gradually transforming humanitarian infrastructure management methods. Some innovations enable real-time analysis of water networks, anticipating breakdowns and optimizing distribution to limit losses. AI is also used to perform predictive maintenance, detecting malfunctions early enough and mapping water resources to best plan interventions.

But these technologies also raise the question of accessibility and training for potential users. Teams need to be supported to use these tools effectively. The digitization of humanitarian infrastructures offers immense potential, but its success will depend on the sector’s ability to integrate these innovations in an inclusive way that is adapted to realities on the ground.

The Saniforce 500 at the WASH 2025 Humanitarian Workshops © Fondation Veolia

Strategic and political issues affecting the future of Wash solutions

While technological advances and new humanitarian approaches are helping to improve access to water and sanitation, their implementation is often hampered by complex strategic and political issues. One of the main challenges is financing. While funds are generally available for emergency interventions, it is much more difficult to obtain financing for sustainable, integrated solutions. Many infrastructures set up in humanitarian contexts are under-funded in the long term, which compromises their long-term maintenance and effectiveness once the emergency is over.

Another major issue is that of conflicts over water use. In certain regions where water resources are very limited, NGO interventions come into conflict with other local players such as agriculture. It is therefore very important to assess the geography and available resources upstream to avoid these conflicts of use. During the Wash Workshops, the importance of an inclusive and concerted approach was underlined: humanitarian actors must work with local authorities, companies and communities to avoid these conflicts and guarantee equitable water management.

Finally, the impact of climate change is making these issues even more critical. Increasingly frequent droughts, dwindling water tables and natural disasters are intensifying the pressure on water resources. It is becoming imperative to anticipate these upheavals and integrate adaptation strategies into humanitarian policies. This requires better mapping of water resources, more resilient infrastructures and greater awareness of the need for sustainable water management.

The future of WASH solutions in humanitarian aid therefore depends on the ability of players to mobilize sustainable funding, work in concert with local authorities and adapt their strategies to current environmental and geopolitical challenges.

The Ateliers Wash de l’humanitaire are a key event for the sector. By bringing together experts and practitioners, they help to advance technical solutions and improve humanitarian interventions. The evolution of the debates and innovations presented show just how professionalized the field has become, despite the many challenges that still require debate and innovation.

India Hauteville

India Hauteville holds a first Masters degree in International Politics from Sciences Po Bordeaux and is currently studying for a Masters degree in Integration and Change in the Mediterranean and Middle East at Sciences Po Grenoble. She is currently assistant to the founder of Solidarités International, Mr. Alain Boinet.

Particularly interested in the Syrian conflict, she is currently writing a thesis on the articulation between humanitarian principles and the realities on the ground in Syria, using the NGO Solidarités International as a case study.

I invite you to read these interviews and articles published in the edition :

20 years of commitment to solidarity and human development

Interview with David Poinard, Managing Director of the Veolia Foundation

In Chad, the Veolia Foundation is working with UNICEF to identify solutions for access to water that are both adapted to this humanitarian environment and likely to be adopted by local communities. ©Veolia

On Monday 18 November, the Veolia foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary… 20 years, the age of youth… But for this atypical foundation, the only one of its kind in France, these twenty years have been those of a human adventure, of self-building to better unite project support and skills sponsorship, while optimising the Veolia group’s three core businesses (water, energy and waste management) in the service of others and the planet. During the evening, Antoine Frérot, Chairman of the Veolia Group and the Veolia Foundation, and other speakers addressed nearly two hundred guests, including Veoliaforce volunteers, humanitarian and institutional partners, and project leaders. For Défis Humanitaires, this anniversary is an opportunity to take stock and to recall the fundamentals of this foundation, which is now a key player in humanitarian aid, development, support for initiatives and the defence of the environment and biodiversity. Interview with David Poinard, CEO of the Veolia Foundation.

This interview is one of a series published with CartONG, Résonances Humanitaires (RH), INSO, Coordination Humanitaire et Développement (CHD), Première Urgence Internationale, Solidarités Internationale and the Crisis and Support Centre of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. There are more to come, notably with VOICE, the coordination of humanitarian NGOs with the European Commission and ECHO in Brussels.

Hello David Poinard. Before going any further, could you tell us about the foundations of the Veolia Foundation in terms of its statutes and how it operates within the Veolia group?

The Veolia Foundation is a corporate foundation under the law of 23 July 1987. Beyond this legal aspect, we are a team of about ten people, supported by the Veolia group. We are the Veolia Group Employees’ Foundation. As the cornerstone of our action, they can be involved as project sponsors or Veoliaforce volunteers. In this way, they embody the Veolia Foundation’s two levers for action: financial support and skills sponsorship.

More specifically, how is the Foundation governed?

The Board of Directors of the Veolia Foundation is made up of Veolia representatives and outside figures who bring us their perspective. It defines the Foundation’s strategic orientations and oversees its sound management. It approves commitments in excess of €150,000, while the Selection Committee examines other projects submitted to the Foundation.

The Veolia Foundation was set up in 2004, partly on the initiative and commitment of Veolia employees. At the time, Veolia Waterforce, a humanitarian intervention structure in the field, was added to this ‘redistributing’ foundation. Under the impetus of Thierry Vandevelde, Managing Director of the Foundation at the time, it became Veoliaforce. Can you elaborate on this evolution-construction towards a unique foundation model, combining a redistribution component as a ‘project sponsor’ and a component as a field player?

Originally, there was a fairly traditional corporate foundation: employees could ask it to support charities, often local ones, in which they were involved in their spare time. When the Waterforce unit, renamed Veoliaforce, joined the Foundation, we gained a lever for action and changed our nature by adding an operational aspect to our actions. We have one specific feature: our actions are always carried out with partners. We work regularly with the French Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières and Solidarités International. And the United Nations

The Veolia Foundation has also joined the France humanitarian response team. When, just over a year ago, the Kakhovka dam was destroyed in Ukraine, leading to flooding and the displacement of populations, the Veolia Foundation took part in an operation led by the Crisis and Support Centre (CDCS) of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

From your point of view, what have been the main challenges and issues that the Veolia Foundation has had to take up or assume over the past twenty years, in order to respond synergistically to the various missions it has set itself: humanitarian emergencies and development, social reintegration, protection of the environment and biodiversity, research and training?

In twenty years, the Veolia Foundation has built bridges between worlds that did not speak to each other and opened doors between the private and public sectors. Today, one of its greatest successes is that these doors no longer exist. With every humanitarian disaster, exchanges are natural and fluid.

The Foundation has changed in nature, but it has also changed in dimension by being able to support projects over the long term. And I’m thinking of the Tara Ocean Foundation. The schooner Tara and the Veolia Foundation are a bet on trust, on our ability to understand the role of the ocean in regulating the climate, on a collective ambition. We have travelled thousands of miles across the seas following Tara. I believe we have helped to raise awareness of a Tara generation. The generation that turned 20 with the Tara Ocean Foundation last year, and with the Veolia Foundation this year.

How many projects has the Veolia Foundation supported since it was set up in 2004, and how many skills sponsorship projects have it carried out?

The Veolia Foundation has supported more than 1,500 projects and carried out more than 200 skills sponsorship projects.

The number of your partners, particularly humanitarian ones, is impressive: Médecins Sans Frontières, the Red Cross, Solidarités International, Première Urgence, Action contre la faim, etc. On a more institutional level, the Crisis and Support Centre of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs…. There are also partnerships with the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Bioforce Institute and even UNICEF and UNHCR… How are these partnerships built, based on what criteria and on what occasions or initiatives? What common thread binds them together?

The common thread is the need for effectiveness. We want to be useful for the beneficiary populations. We need to be both reactive in the event of a humanitarian emergency and determined when addressing long-term issues, such as sanitation in refugee camps. To achieve this fluidity in our exchanges, we need to get to know each other and exchange ideas. With this in mind, in 2020 we set up the WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene or EAH editor’s note) Humanitarian Workshops, a biennial event organised with the Partenariat Français pour l’Eau (PFE), which brings together a number of players in the sector to identify innovations, share feedback and, generally speaking, talk to each other. I believe we now have a well-established place in the sector as water and sanitation experts dedicated to the humanitarian sector. We keep coming back to this: our Veoliaforce volunteers are our added value.

Organised with the Partenariat Français pour l’Eau (PFE), the Humanitarian WASH Workshops bring together around fifty experts in access to water and sanitation in the humanitarian sector to identify innovations and share feedback and good practice. ©Veolia

Veoliaforce, a field intervention structure that supports humanitarian NGOs with expertise specific to the Veolia group (water, energy and waste management), works with volunteers who are Veolia group employees made available during their working hours. How are applications and in-house technical training organised?

Each year we organise training for around thirty candidates for the Veoliaforce voluntary service. These employees, from all Veolia’s business lines, learn how to deploy Aquaforces, our mobile water purification units, and get to know our partners in the humanitarian sector, who are present during the training.

As you mentioned, Veoliaforce volunteers are employees of the group who go on mission during their working hours, with a hierarchy and colleagues who support the effort in their absence. When a Veoliaforce expert leaves, a whole team, in addition to the Foundation, is mobilised to make this possible.

The Veolia Foundation is present or active in a great many countries, and the ‘map of projects’ is impressive. Can you give some concrete, recent and significant examples of interventions, particularly humanitarian, with your partners, on decisive issues, situations or challenges?

In recent months, we have been working in refugee and displaced persons camps in eastern Chad. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is facing one of the most massive humanitarian crises in the world today. It asked the Veolia Foundation to improve access to water in the 12 camps around Farchana. We provided continuous support for five weeks to audit and make recommendations.

In another example, this time with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), several Veoliaforce experts travelled to Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to support the NGO in improving access to drinking water in hospitals and camps for displaced persons.

And on a much more local level, in the Paris region, we are supporting a back-to-work project organised by Maison Solidarité Femmes 95 to help women who have suffered violence. Our projects and missions take us to places where humanity is under attack.

The civil war in neighbouring Sudan has caused almost 8 million people to flee, of whom just over 900,000 have crossed the border into Chad. As a Stand-By Partner of the UN agency, the Veolia Foundation is committed to supporting the UNHCR on the issue of access to water. ©Veolia

To keep things practical and humanitarian, a simple question: when does Veoliaforce intervene?

It all starts with an exchange with a partner who, through their knowledge of the field, lets us know what type of intervention is needed. In a post-disaster context, it is the feedback that leads us to determine the human and material resources needed to restore access to water, for example. Does the area have fresh water sources? Is it necessary to treat brackish water? The answer will lead us to give priority to a particular Aquaforce [mobile drinking water treatment unit].

In a post-emergency humanitarian context, or even in a development project, you have to find the right moment to intervene in the most useful way possible. Depending on needs and the availability of our Veoliaforce experts, we structure the timetable for missions with our partners.

Access to drinking water is already, and will become even more so, one of the decisive challenges of the 21st century… Does the fact that you are the foundation of a group that specialises, among other things, in water services give you a more global – we would say holistic – ‘intelligence’ of this challenge? And how does this intelligence enable you to put in place ‘tailor-made’ solutions on the ground (I’m also thinking of your adaptable and modular Aquaforces and Saniforces technical solutions)?

The challenge is to combine the business expertise available within the Group with our partners’ knowledge of the field. The Aquaforce RO, adapted to brackish water environments, was born out of the need, gradually identified, to be able to adapt to environments where fresh water is scarce. Saniforce, a low-carbon solution for treating faecal sludge in humanitarian contexts, was born out of field observations: when camps for displaced persons or refugees become permanent, the question of sanitation becomes a major public health and environmental issue.

In addition to humanitarian and development work, the Veolia Foundation is also involved in social reintegration and the protection of the environment and biodiversity (the Tara missions you mentioned spring to mind). Can you explain how important these causes are to you, and how you link them to the Foundation’s other missions and to the Veolia Group’s core businesses?

Like Veolia, we want to be a player in the inevitable ecological transformation we have to go through. To be understood, embodied and activated, this transformation must be fair. This is a major challenge for our contemporary societies. By investing in social links and integration through economic activity, we want to ensure that no one is forgotten along the way.

As for the environment, the challenge is to live in harmony with nature, preserve resources and biodiversity, and limit climate change. In other words, our challenge is to ensure that the Earth remains habitable. The Foundation encourages actions that educate the public or raise awareness of eco-responsible behaviour. It also supports ambitious projects to understand and restore natural environments.

Do you have any practical examples of training initiatives in one or more of the Foundation’s areas of activity that are particularly close to your heart?

Training is not one of the Veolia Foundation’s areas of activity as such, but it is one of the means we use to promote our action. We train Veoliaforce volunteers and, increasingly, we train the staff of humanitarian partners in the use of our solutions. We are involved with Bioforce, the French Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. In the field, we train the staff of UN agencies to take over the production of drinking water.

In a rural region of Senegal, a drinking water treatment plant has been installed by two desalination experts to provide the population with access to quality water. ©Veolia

It will soon be 2025; what prospects do you see for the work of the Veolia Foundation in a world where humanitarian and development needs are exploding and conflicts are spreading? What challenges do you think the Foundation will have to meet, and how might it adapt its modus operandi or approach?

This year we’re moving up a gear, both in terms of human resources, by setting up a network of Veolia ambassadors to increase the impact of our action in the regions, and in terms of material resources, by setting up hubs where our Aquaforces will be pre-positioned so that they can be transported more quickly to where they’re needed. The idea is that, with our small team of less than ten people, we can leverage our resources to duplicate more easily, deploy more quickly and respond more effectively.

More specifically, at a time when funding for humanitarian aid and development is falling and crossing the exponential curve of needs, do you think that foundations such as the Veolia Foundation have a greater role or responsibility to assume?

Our responsibility is that of the foundation of a group present in all essential services. We want to be able to respond whenever the need arises and our partners call on us.

In conclusion, what would you like to say to your partners in projects and actions, and to our readers?

A big thank you, because without them, we wouldn’t be much of anything! By submitting projects to us, by calling on us in emergencies or for development, they push us to be better. They are the key to our effectiveness. I might as well tell you that we haven’t finished working together, because it’s necessary, because it’s useful. At 20, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you!

Every year, around thirty Veolia employees from all business lines come here for training in humanitarian emergencies and development missions. ©Véolia

Interview by Pierre Brunet

Writer and humanitarian

David Poinard

Delegate General of the Veolia Foundation since April 2024, David Poinard is a hydrogeologist by training and holds a doctorate in urban hydrology from INSA Lyon. He has held a number of management positions at Veolia Water since 2001, and is also involved in Veolia Foundation operations as a Veoliaforce volunteer, working on development projects or in crisis situations (natural disasters and armed conflicts). He has also chaired the French Water Partnership (FWP) working group on ‘WASH in crisis and fragile contexts’ since 2020.

Veolia Foundation: Serving outreach and human development | Fondation Veolia

‘Thank you in advance for your support for the publication of Défis Humanitaires’.
Alain Boinet, Chairman of Défis Humanitaires.