WHY TO WORK ON WASH (WATER – HYGIENE AND SANINATION)?
Access to clean water and hygiene facilities are still limited in most communities in Northern Lao:
More than 45% of households in Phongsaly don’t have access to a clean and protected primary water source. In most communities, especially in uplands, water is not accessible all the year. Fetching water and boiling it is an intensive chore house and a significant workload for women and children who have to spend a lot of time to walk and fetch water during the dry season;
Only 52% have access to improved sanitation facilities (latrines) while the percentage reaches 73.8% at national level. Open defecation is common and raises several issues: discomfort for women and young children especially in the night and during women periods, risk of snake bites, and health issues. According to the World Health Organization, the lack of water and hygiene facilities result in frequent diarrhoea and other diseases, and is the major cause of malnutrition in Northern Lao.
Phongsaly shows one of the highest rates of malnutrition of the country: 26% of children under 5 years are underweight for their age; 51% are stunted (low height/age) and 4% wasted (low weight for height).
What Do We Do?
Providing expertise on WASH: survey, design of water supply system and hygiene facilities (latrines, hand washing stations…);
Rehabilitation or construction of water supply system at village level, hygiene facilities;
Hygiene education in communities and schools;
Capacity building at village level on water safety planning: water quality test, protection of the sources from potential contamination, …;
Capacity building of village water management committees: training on supervision and maintenance, small repairs, collection of water fees, …;
Support to create a network between communities and hygiene facilities suppliers (for latrines, water filter, …;
Capacity building of local partners: technical training for Government technical staff;
“Green innovations”: promotion of innovations for a sustainable use of water (solar pump, water meter at household level, …).
For Which Results?
Since 2015, across CCL projects:
68 water supply systems built, benefiting more than 18,550 people
1,769 latrines built, benefiting more than 7,600 people
