Community driven and emergency WASH intervention for displacement-affected people in Iraq

Due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Iraq, there are currently 7.2 million people- 20% of the population- in need of WASH assistance. Among these, about 4.13 million (projected to be 5.03 million by end 2015) are estimated to be in critical need of safe, adequate and appropriate WASH services. Needs are particularly acute in areas more heavily affected by displacement such as Anbar, Baghdad, Kirkuk, Salah ai-Din, Ninewa and Diyala. Also, there are particular concerns for displaced girls and women regarding safety and protection while using WASH facilities.

Risk of diseases due to poor sanitation is a major concern in south central Iraq. The cholera outbreak in September 2015 spread so rapidly because of the outdated water and sewerage systems affected by years of war and neglect.

International aid has heavily focused on the provision of hardware such as e.g. latrines, showers and drinking water whereas little attention has been given to social mobilisation around WASH issues and hygiene promotion.

Against this background, the project will provide WASH assistance in conflict affected areas through a combination of community driven WASH programming in Kirkuk, emergency gender sensitive WASH material support to IDPs/host communities in south central Iraq and enhancement of hygiene promotion within the WASH cluster system.

Contribute to improving the public health of conflict affected people in Iraq

The project will target persons affected by displacement with no or little access to safe and sufficient water and sanitation facilities, persons with poor water, sanitation and hygiene knowledge. The target population will thus comprise internally displaced persons, returnees and vulnerable host communities. The total number of beneficiaries is estimated at 25,200 persons in south central Iraq (Baghdad and Anbar governorates) and Kirkuk governorate (9576 women, 9252 men and 6300 children) in addition to the 20 WASH cluster members.

Outcome 1: Material support: Address first and second line WASH emergency needs in south central Iraq (Baghdad and Anbar governorates with flexibility of addressing needs in south centre (Component 1)

Outcome 2: Community empowerment: Empower host and displaced communities in accessing WASH services through a community driven WASH pilot approach in Kirkuk (Component 2)

Outcome 3: Cluster capacity building: Enhance the capacity of 20 members of the national WASH cluster in hygiene promotion through the development of Hygiene Promotion strategy in the context of Iraq. (Component 3)

Resultados previstos:  

1.1 Provision of safe and sustainable water supply facilities;

1.2 Household water treatment and safe storage inputs are provided;

1.3 Gender sensitive sanitation facilities are constructed;

1.4 Hygiene education and promotion of safe practices conducted within communities and at key institutions.

For outcome 2

2.1 Community structures are formulated and built for improved provision of WASH services.

For outcome 3

3.1 Enhanced WASH actors capacities in contextualized hygiene promotion strategy development.

Resultados de las fases anteriores:  

NRC implemented the project "Assistance to IDPs in Baghdad" in the context of the Anbar crisis. The aim of the project was to ensure that IDPs having fled to Baghdad had improved access to basic services and that government policies and public opinion were influenced in a way which increased assistance to and recognition of the needs of IDPs. Phase 1 results include:

• 108 training workshops/outreach sessions were conducted;
• 17,100 individuals were reached through winterization, cash, and NFI distributions;
• A total of 93 staff representing 20 INGOs participated in 4 training workshops to build their capacities in responding to the IDPs' needs;
• In order to sensitize decision makers about the plight of IDPs in Baghdad, 11 town hall meetings were held attracting a total of 686 persons;
• 10 short TV clips documenting the challenging situation of lDPs living in Baghdad, were produced and broadcasted locally on two well-known local TV stations;
• Women and female headed households' living conditions have improved and enabling them to meet most of the family needs in a safer and more independent way.
• NRC consolidated its interventions and outreach in Baghdad and south central Iraq.

Lessons learnt from Phase 1

• Step up the response to the Iraq crisis: the response of the Government of Iraq and other governmental actors is still disproportionate to the needs of more than 3.2 million IDPs.
• Inclusive response: bearing in mind the ongoing displacements in Iraq, the international response should target both old and new caseloads and should continue supporting host communities as well as displaced persons.
• Priority areas of focus: the project has managed to meet in part the essential needs of the most vulnerable IDPs in Baghdad. However many other sectors still have major challenges to provide the necessary support for IDPs and therefore more interventions must be implemented which complement one another. These include as priorities shelter, WASH, and income generation.
• Gender-specific needs: Women are still one of the main vulnerable groups who have been severely affected by the displacement crisis. Specific interventions should target the needs of women during crisis.

WASH cluster partners comprising of government representatives, international, national NGOs and the UN agencies

This project is in line with priorities outlined under WASH cluster in the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Iraq 2015. It combines a focus of first-line response with sequential second-line response. NRC is part of the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) in the WASH Cluster and is actively collaborating with other WASH actors across Iraq in both the northern and south-central regions. It is also coherent with the Swiss Cooperation Strategy Middle East 2015-2018 under water domain. The project complements Save the Children project funded by SDC.

Fase 2 01.10.2015 - 31.08.2017   (Completed)