WASH
Unsafe
or inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene has a profound effect on
public health around the world. Diarrhea alone kills nearly 2 million people
worldwide each year, of which 1.5 million are children. Nearly 90 percent of
diarrhea is attributed to unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and
poor hygiene. "WASH-related diseases are the number one cause of
hospitalization and mortality for children under five. More than 50 percent of
all hospital visits in Kenya are for illnesses related to water, sanitation and
hygiene,” said Karen Freeman, Mission Director for USAID in Kenya.
SCC
has been implementing WASH programme since 2012 todate cumulatively completing 16
WASH projects in Middle Shabelle, Banadir, Lower Shabelle and lower Juba
regions. In order to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation
facilities and promote good hygiene and sanitation practices in an effort to
reduce the transmission of fecal-oral diseases among conflict affected IDPs and
host communities in those regions.
The
interventions include emergency and humanitarian services targeting vulnerable
people including women and children displaced by floods, conflicts and
droughts. SCC established regional offices in Kismayu, Jowhar and Afgoye and
has experienced WASH programeteams in the target regions and a strong network
of national and international organizations working in the same areas.
SCC program focuses on water supply and sanitation access, hygiene promotion, management, and environmental sustainability in rural areas, especially the arid and semi-arid lands. SCC will continue to place communities at the Centre of its programming. Empowered communities claim their rights, have capacity to actively engage with service provides and policy makers, and create and maintain social norms. SCC will continue supporting communities to:
-Rehabilitation/construction of borehole and shallow wells, construction of gender segregated latrines, capacity building for hygiene promoters, and establishing of water management committees.
-Actively participate in WASH-related processes and have access to information, knowledge and tools – including monitoring – to hold service providers and local authorities accountable;
-To provide training to volunteers, birth attendants, Community Health Workers (CHWs) on hygiene promotion, and safe practices.
-Mobilize the necessary support and resources to have access to reliable services and increased community resilience;
Establish and sustain healthy WASH practices by creating, changing or reinforcing social norms. -vulnerable arid lands, displaced communities especially women and children