COVID-19 challenges and WASH in informal settlements: Integrated action supported by the sustainable development goals

•COVID-19 has exposed service gaps in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in informal settlments in cities.•The vulnerability of informal settlements to COVID-19 is not accidental, but a result of the type of cities that were built.•The Sustainable Development Goals provide a framework for integrated actions in WASH benefitting other sectors.•Partnerships for interventions must consider scalar dynamics with different responses taken at different governance levels.