Why?
The project’s purpose is to make selected communities more resilient to diarrhoea through increasing access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. In the Blolequin department, along with Ivory Coast’s western regions, post-election crises from 2010 have resulted in the displacement of people, destruction of homes and health facilities. Despite humanitarian aid in 2011 and 2012, food insecurity, malnutrition, poor water, sanitation, and hygiene, and epidemic diseases are still a threat. In this last category, diarrhoea is the second leading culprit for under-five mortality, due largely to absence of sufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene practices and structures, all of which are exacerbated by internal conflicts. The project is located in 13 villages of Blolequin, a forested department in the west of Ivory Coast. These populations are rural, living scattered and isolated. The villages are CIB, De?pouta, Chantier Colonel, Tomepleu, Bablivaya, Pohan Basobly, Zomplou, Ke?bouebo, Guibobli, Dieya, Oulai Taibly, Medibly, and Zile?bly.
What?
Supporting communities is the core of the project. This is done through community-lead sanitation, which aims at changing social norms surrounding hygiene and sanitation, along with installing water infrastructures and training individuals on sage water usage. Additionally, child nutrition and educational programmes on diarrhoea, epidemic and emergency response planning, monitoring, and organisation with local authorities, communities and the Red Cross are also carried out along with building health centres.
Who?
The project chiefly targets children under five years-old, but casts a wider net and will ultimately reach more than 60,000 people in delivering its services, good, and communications.