{
  "abstract": "Climate change is straining water and sanitation services (WSS), leading to disruptions that threaten public health. In low-income and fragile contexts, there is an urgent need to increase investments in WSS, as well as to enhance efficiency in the utilisation of available financial resources. Operational research can help optimise future investments in WSS. In this perspective, we share our experience carrying out research embedded within a large-scale water supply infrastructure improvement programme in an urban, cholera-endemic area in South Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Through the lens of this concrete example, we highlight the need for rigorous research on higher quality drinking water services in low-income and fragile countries, discuss how multi-stakeholder research partnerships and pragmatic methods can contribute to the generation of rigorous evidence where it is most needed, and illustrate the role of research in strengthening capacities for both science and practice.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Duebendorf, Switzerland",
    "Division Provinciale de la Santé du Sud-Kivu, Ministère de la Santé Publique, Zone de Santé d’Uvira, Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo",
    "Uvira office, Oxfam International, Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo",
    "Veolia Foundation, Paris, France",
    "French Agency for Development, Paris, France",
    "Faculty of Medicine, Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Studies, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland",
    "Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland",
    "Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom",
    "One Health pour l’Afrique (INOHA), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo"
  ],
  "article_type": "Essay",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Karin Gallandat"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jaime Mufitini Saidi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Baron Bashige Rumedeka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Damien Machuel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Audrey Seon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Espoir Bwenge Malembaka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Patrick Musole Bugeme"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Esther German"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Didier Bompangue"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chloe Hutchins"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jackie Knee"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew Azman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Oliver Cumming"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8n33mjpwkqx9t.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pwat.0000646",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000646",
  "id": "8n33mjpwkqx9t",
  "issns": [
    "2767-3219"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000646",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2312|Water Resource Management and Quality"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Computer and information sciences/Systems science/Operations research"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Atmospheric science/Climatology/Climate change"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Natural resources/Water resources"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Civil engineering/Urban infrastructure"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Environmental engineering/Water management"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Management engineering/Operations research"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Environmental health/Sanitation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Bacterial diseases/Cholera"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Tropical diseases/Neglected tropical diseases/Cholera"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Environmental health/Sanitation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Systems science/Operations research"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Economics/Economic analysis/Operations research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221052479",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/water/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000646&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-08",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8n33mjpwkqx9t.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pwat.0000646",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000646"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "plos:climate change",
      "subfield": "climate"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:public and occupational health",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Pragmatic water and health research in a complex emergency: Learnings and way forward",
  "title_text": "Pragmatic water and health research in a complex emergency: Learnings and way forward",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8n33mjpwkqx9t",
  "venue": "PLOS Water",
  "versions": []
}