Issues and impact
In DPR Korea, high incidence of diarrhoeal diseases caused by contaminated water, use of unsanitary latrines and unhygienic practices reinforces the cycle of malnutrition and contributes to high infant and child morbidity and mortality. Piped water availability has been curtailed and is often contaminated because of deteriorated infrastructure and distribution system. The treatment of piped water is no longer a regular practice due to lack of national budget. Families now frequently have to seek alternative water sources and the burden of water collection falls on women and children. The perception, knowledge and practices of parents concerning home management of diarrhoeal diseases are also known to be poor. UNICEF’s water and environmental sanitation projects focus on improvements in the physical environment of children and women in order to prevent common diseases such as diarrhoea and skin infections. With vast needs and limited resources, most interventions will necessarily be constrained geographically to the focus counties/districts. The focus countries/districts project is designed to rehabilitate complete piped water systems, the most common water supply system in the country, progressively covering 10 whole counties/districts. In 2003-2004, UNICEF successfully piloted a gravity-fed system in three focus countries in which clean running water from springs and the hills and mountains flows down to the end-users without the need for electricity or pumping mechanisms. This is a very simple technology and the cost of both investment and operation is low. It, therefore, increased the value of UNICEF contribution in DPR Korea as it provided greater results for lost-cost technology. The workload of women and girls, who traditionally bore the burden of water collection, has been reduced as clean water is now available closer to the household/community. As a result, girls’ attendance at school has been improved and a lot more time has been allocated in the care of children provided by caregivers and mothers. With the lessons learned from these focus counties, province-wide water supply improvement proposals are being prepared for later larger-scale funding.
At the same time, the bathrooms and latrines in key child-care institutions (such as baby homes, nurseries, schools, and hospitals) are being rehabilitated, and, where technically appropriate, borewells are being drilled to ensure an independent source of water. In conjunction with the care for children and women project, this project also promotes hygiene and sanitation among families in focus counties. Local city management and health authorities are provided with supplies and equipment to monitor water quality. The emergency water supply rehabilitation project continues to provide disinfectants and spare parts to functioning water treatment stations and for emergency support for areas affected by natural disasters. Key results sought are that:
Focus counties/districts
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