About the Project

Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are critical to human health and wellbeing. Despite the countries’ effort to provide access to safe drinking water for all of its people, there are challenges in many of the far flung remote rural pockets of the region. 

Therefore, the objective of the project was to improve the lives and health of the selected rural poor communities through the provision of safe and adequate drinking water and sanitation.

Project Objectives: 

The objectives of project, inter alia, include:

• Equitable access to safe drinking / household / livelihood water;
• Ensure adequate quantity of good quality of water;
• Identify appropriate/innovative technologies for treatment, restoration and development of sustainable water resource mechanisms (including financial and social models);
• Open Defecation Free (ODF) declared in targeted areas;
• Promote hygiene and sanitation practices in schools and targeted communities;
• Capacitate Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in management of water and sanitation facilities and promotion of hygiene;
• Promote water-based livelihoods and build a cadre/ cohort of women led service providers and
• Experience and knowledge sharing on good practices in SAARC countries.

Expected Outcome(s)/benefits

• Equitable and adequate supply of water will be available at the household level;
• Improved water use efficiency and improved quality of water;
• Integrated local water resources management, with strengthened water infrastructure, based on the country’s context and priority areas;  
• Expanded sanitation facilities like toilets in the targeted households or availability of water in the existing toilets;
• Enhanced awareness and understanding amongst the communities, especially, women and girl students on need and practices for sanitation and safe hygiene.   
• Schools will become the ‘models’ of cleanliness for the project areas.  
• There will be more of women managed and owned social security, and services management ( e.g. women based hand-pump maintenance, Village water supply and sanitation committees for after-care of constructed facilities) systems.
• Feasible technology options adopted to improve the drinking water quality, waste-water disposal- management and safe sanitation and hygiene practices.
• Declaration of ODF in project implementation sites.
• Project implementation areas will be clean, the solid and liquid waste will be disposed properly by each family and community as well.
• Exchange programs for experience and knowledge sharing on good practices in WASH, in the SAARC region.

Project Activities

• Baseline Survey;
• Situation analysis and mapping of resources through community participation;
• Awareness creation and community mobilization;
• SOPs for users; and Documentation and dissemination of project.

Water

Engineering Survey, design and estimates of the project;

Procurement of materials for Water Infrastructure;

Civil work for Water Infrastructure;

Formation and Capacity building of Users Committee;

Development and rehabilitation of water sources; and 

Identification and adaptation of appropriate technology.

Sanitation

Training and awareness to CBOs, Schools and Communities;

Training on appropriate approaches / models;

Construction and modification of sanitation facilities and demonstration units;

Linkage to government programs;

Declaration of Open Defecation Free (ODF);

Build up local level institutional capacity;

Awareness creation on standards of sanitation; and

Technology options for toilets.

Hygiene

Study on socio cultural practices of targeted communities specially women and schools;

Develop Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials for Behavior Change Communication (BCC) and

Adaptation and awareness of appropriate modules on hygiene practices / technology.

Project Period: Start Date: 1-Sep-2013

Approved Budget: US $ 6,298,408.00

Status: Completed

Participating Countries

Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Beneficiary: 30,000 women/ household workers/ farmers will be provided with water for drinking and small-scale livelihoods such as home garden cultivation, floriculture, animal husbandry, and food processing etc.