Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

25 programmes in 7 countries
112,023 beneficiary families in 2023

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

 

The Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programs aim at durably reducing the prevalence of waterborne diseases:

  • by improving both the quality and the quantity of water available, by promoting household water chlorination, and by improving basic sanitation through simple infrastructures that are adapted to local capabilities;
  • by also raising awareness about hygiene, which often has an equivalent impact (halving diarrheas-related child mortality);
  • by systematically developing accompanying measures that are aimed at the sustainable management of water points, by involving users, institutions, public or private operators if they exist, through partnership agreements;
  • by setting up local and stand-alone networks of operators that are able to maintain or repair water points and can therefore guarantee a continuous access to drinking water to rural families, at low cost;

On the ground, this means:

  • Building spring catchment and gravity fed systems, digging of wells and boreholes;
  • Promoting the treatment of household water, combined with the development of a supply chain for chlorine;
  • Providing training on hygiene and sanitation, as well as providing support and advice on the construction of latrines;
  • Setting up and training water point committees and unions of users to sustainably manage the infrastructures;
  • Promoting maintenance measures that are the most efficient and best suited to the context:
    • creating networks of hand pumps mechanics and partners shops that resell spare parts (sometimes on a large scale, as is the case in Malawi);
    • developing public or community services able to diagnose problems and providing support and advice on the operation and maintenance of the water points (‘Federations’ in Ethiopia, ‘Technical communal services’ in Madagascar)
    • ensuring the management, monitoring and maintenance of the facilities by professional non-profit management agents (local NGOs Soakoja and Tehyna in Madagascar);
  • Strengthening of the ties with local authorities and sector line Ministries.

Inter Aide’s added value:
⇒ Systemically combining access to water with training on sanitation and good hygiene practices
⇒ Always involving communities in processes and implementing, wherever possible, partnerships between communities, users of the water points, institutional actors, and the private sector, in order to:

  • create mechanisms that allow for the sustainable operation and maintenance of the infrastructure;
  • promote the emergence of a relationship between users and service providers;
  • encourage the implementation of a water policy at territorial level.

Ethiopia – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Ethiopia

Madagascar – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Madagascar

Malawi – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Malawi

Mozambique – Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Mozambique

Sierra Leone – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Sierra Leone

Haiti – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Haiti

Guinea – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To learn more about our WASH programs in Guinea