Environmental Health (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) whose strategic objective is to increase access to and use of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services in health facilities, schools, and communities by 15 % by 2025.
“Having access to safe water and basic sanitation, and adopting good hygiene practices is vital to everyone’s life. Basic sanitation, improved hygiene practices, safe drinking water sources and more water for washing can prevent water-related diseases, other illnesses, and death, especially in children” (AFOD Strategy 2015-2020;17).
A range of limitations impacts progress on the WASH sector in South Sudan. The central and state governments are often constrained by poor capacity in technical and financial resources and often weak coordination between stakeholders to ensure that WASH service delivery targets the poor to improve their hygiene behavior and reduce mortality and morbidity due to water-bone and hygiene-related diseases.
The key WASH /environmental health issues that AFOD strategy 2021-2025 aims to mitigate as a complement to the efforts of the South Sudan Government are High morbidity and mortality due to water and sanitation-related diseases: Low access to and utilization of safe water, sanitation and hygiene services; Non-functionality and repair of established water sources; Very low latrine coverage with rampant open defection; Weak planning, priority setting and coordination and Inadequate and unpredictable funding for the development of this sector.
Strategic intervention areas under this program component include:
- Improving access to clean and safe water
- Improving sanitation and hygiene
AFOD will complement the efforts of the South Sudan Government to address the following key challenges in the sector are:
- High morbidity and mortality due to water and sanitation-related diseases
- Low access to and utilization of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services
- Low latrine coverage and access to hand-washing facilities and rubbish pits.
- Weak planning and coordination mechanisms for the WASH sector
- Inadequate and unpredictable funding for the development of this
Improving Access to Clean Water
Strategic objective: To improve access to and use of clean and safe water
- Facilitate the assessment of WASH facilities to determine safety and functionality
- Support the construction and rehabilitation of water sources in needy communities
- Establish and build the capacity of water user committees
- Support local pump mechanics and build their capacity for the maintenance of water
- Facilitate water quality assessment
Sanitation and Hygiene
Strategic objective: Enhance access to sanitation and hygiene services
- Support community-led total sanitation approach;
- Support the construction of latrine blocks in health facilities and schools;
- Facilitate the construction of placenta pits in health facilities
- Equip community Hygiene promoters with knowledge about their roles
- Provide hand washing facilities at health facilities with detergents (liquid or bar soaps);
- Facilitate village hygiene promoters to create awareness and train local people on the construction and use of tippy
- Support advocacy meetings at the village level on sanitation and hygiene promotion
- Support monthly community and school mobilization on sanitation and hygiene
- Support production and distribution of WASH IEC materials
- Facilitate annual home improvement campaigns
- Establish and build the capacity of WASH coordination structures
- Strengthen the capacity of institutions for S&H planning and budgeting
- Support WASH coordination meetings and joint monitoring.