Water, sanitation and hygiene
Clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children
Challenges
3rd lowest globally in the use of unimproved sources of water and use of basic sanitation
Only 36 per cent of the rural population have access to improved water sources
(8th lowest country in the world)
Only 10 per cent of the population uses basic sanitation facilities
Limited access to clean water and poor sanitation and hygiene practices are of particular concern, especially given the link with chronic malnutrition and diarrhea which affects children under 5 years
UNICEF programme
Mobilizing communities to scale up Community-Led Total Sanitation and implementing behaviour change communication programmes
Promoting the development of sustainable models such as the integration of WASH, health and nutrition programmes through provision and use of WASH packages in rural communities, schools, health and nutrition centres
Advocacy for increased political commitment and investments in the WASH sector
Supporting the Government to be an effective convener on sanitation issues and to improve sector coordination, information-sharing and efficiency
Key results
- Investment case: Making the case to prioritize and invest in WASH
- Building pipelines: Securing water for all in the South, introducing multiple uses of water to strengthen food security: drinking, micro-irrigation
- Championing innovation for increased cost effectiveness and equity: satellite imagery to detect groundwater in arid zones
- Pumps, boreholes, water systems: More than 570,000 gained access to safe water
- Community-led total sanitation: More than 2,545,000 people abandoned open defecation
- Emergency WASH: Drought response (Resilient approach); Cyclone response (water purification and rehabilitation of water points); Plague response (covering hospital WASH and disinfection, prevention and control needs)