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Geneva Technical Hub

Geneva Technical Hub

The Geneva Technical Hub (GTH) has been established to improve the lives of refugees, internally displaced persons and their host communities by enhancing the quality of technical programming in disaster risk reduction (DRR), energy, environment, shelter/housing, settlement planning, water, sanitation and hygiene.
View over the camp 1 in Kutupalong refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar.

Background and context

The Geneva Technical Hub (GTH) brings together Swiss academia and expert practitioners to tackle complex technical problems, share learnings, and find solutions that can be applied in diverse UNHCR operational contexts.

The work of the GTH contributes to the Second Pillar of the UNHCR’s Strategic Framework for Climate Action and its Operational Strategy by studying solutions to support the conservation of the natural environment and mitigate environmental degradation.

Officially launched in June 2021 under UNHCR’s Division of Resilience of Solutions, the Hub will further the resilience of the displaced and host communities to climate-related risks and strengthen preparedness and early action. 

Support offered by the Geneva Technical Hub

Field support
In a targeted and time-bound way, both directly and remotely.

Operational guidance 
Tools and best practices developed and operationalized.

Think tank
In collaboration with academia, analyze, explore, develop and test new methods, products and solutions.

Capacity building
To jointly learn and strengthen staff capacity.

What technical issues will be tackled?

  1. Support planning for sustainable settlements that are resilient to climate change.
  2. Study sustainable and environmentally friendly housing solutions.
  3. Improve water safety planning, supporting hydrogeological assessments, feasibility studies on solarization of boreholes and water network designs.
  4. Improve safe and reliable access to energy and WASH services for community infrastructures such as schools and health centres.
  5. Foster access to clean cooking fuels and technologies.
  6. Enhance access to sustainable electricity.
  7. Mainstream environmental considerations throughout humanitarian responses.

Operational guidance, tools and best practices

Among other support, the Geneva Technical Hub supports the provision of operational guidance, tools and best practices contributing to the enhancement of technical programming in the following areas:

Further resources and materials

For more information on the support offered, please email the Technical Support Section in the Division of Resilience and Solutions at [email protected].

Community infrastructure catalogue with sustainability assessments

Infrastructure is a critical part of UNHCR’s support provided in refugee settlements. Vari­ous types of infrastructure support provision of shelter and services for displaced people and host communities. Community infrastructure encompasses a diverse range of simple, small-scale infra­structure that is often an essential component of camp environment. The simplicity and scale of community infrastructure promote cost-effective service delivery and support sustainability by re­lying on materials and techniques that enable com­munity engagement in infrastructure construction and maintenance.

This Community infrastructure catalogue from UNHCR’s Technical support section presents a range of examples of community infrastructure commonly used in camp settings. The presentation of community infrastructure designs includes the following to support decision-making and imple­mentation in relation to camp infrastructure:

  • basic environmental impact assessments
  • comparative assessments
  • bills of quantities
  • drawings and spec­ifications.

These designs are drawn from operations and publications of UNHCR and partner organizations. We provide variations and alternatives for different types of community infrastructure, considering different conditions across UNHCR operations and reflecting priorities defined by the UNHCR Shelter community of practice.

  • Download the Communal infrastructure catalogue [LINK?].

Download (below, on this page) the working templates corresponding to the different categories featured in the catalogue: