RESILIENCE BUILDING THROUGH
WASH AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SUPPORTin informal settlements

Copyright © 2024
UN-Habitat Myanmar
No. 8C, Saw Mahar Street, Bahan Township,Yangon, Myanmar

Resilience Building through WASH and Waste Management Support
in Informal Settlements

www.unhabitat.org
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic,
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All photographs copyright © UN-Habitat Myanmar
Photographer: UN-Habitat Staffs
Implemented by:

Resilience Building against COVID-19 through WASHand Waste Management Support in Urban Informal SettlemeentsBACKGROUND
Yangon Region was undoubtedly the epicenter ofthe COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar. Among thehardest hit by the health and socio-economic impactof the pandemic are the urban poor of Yangon,
specifically the residents of Yangon’s informal
settlements. The success of the battle against
COVID-19 in the country was in large linked to thesuccess of the Yangon Region, hosting the largest
urban agglomeration in the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us once againof the central role that WASH (water, sanitationand hygiene) play in protecting us from diseases.
The provision of safe water, sanitation and waste
management and hygienic conditions was essential
for preventing and protecting human healthduring all infectious disease outbreaks, including
COVID-19.
However, most of the COVID-19 recommendations
were almost impossible to implement in informal
settlements, where overcrowding, poor housing
design and lack of access to water, sanitation andwaste management facilities, make any form ofphysical/social distancing and simple interventions,such as regular washing of hands, extremelydifficult. In addition, most households rely on dayto-day work to meet their living costs and do nothave any savings or financial buffer to rely on to
pay for basic services such as water, sanitation andhygiene (WASH).
As informal settlements suffer from poverty,

inequalities, and chronic infrastructural underinvestment, it was vital that residents living in theseareas are equipped and supported to tackle thepandemic effectively so as to help ensure the safetyof all residents of the city.
Therefore, it was deemed as urgent and essential
to help build more resilient water, sanitation,and hygiene systems that would deliver thesefundamental services particularly to the neediest –both in the short term for preventive and protective
measures as well as in the medium term in
improving the living conditions to prevent fromfuture pandemic. Ensuring access to critical WASH
services was an essential component of Yangon’sbattle against COVID-19.

PROJECT OVERVIEWOBJECTIVE OF THIS PHOTOBOOK

Based on the COVID-19 response survey toinformal settlements in Yangon conducted in 2020,UN-Habitat implemented the project for “buildingresilience against COVID-19 through WASH andwaste management support in urban informalsettlements” from March 2021 to April 2024.

This booklet showcases nearly three years ofproject implementation where the human spiritof the target population is united to work for theresilience building of vulnerable target informal
settlements in Hlaing Thar Yar, Dagon Seikkan,
South Dagon, Insein, Dala, Shwe Pyi Thar,
Thanlyin, and North Okkalapa Townships.

This project had a specific objective to contributeto the country’s effort to control and cut thetransmission of COVID-19 by securing access toand sustaining the availability of WASH and waste
management services in informal settlements
including schools which are being attended bychildren of the residents, and to reach mostvulnerable households with responsible information
with the aim to prevent further expansion of thepandemic at home and in the community. Moreover,the project also aimed to improve the resilienceof local communities to organize people and work
together with multiple stakeholders in ensuring theefficacy of COVID-19 prevention interventions.
UN-Habitat implemented the following three interrelated components in 45 locations, 257 schools,
and 42 community health clinics in eight target
townships in Yangon.
Component A:
Enhancing access to safe water and improved
environmental sanitation in informal settlements
Component B:
Improving solid waste management in informal
settlements
Component C:
Improving hygiene awareness and capacity ofcommunities in informal settlements

The project directly benefitted approximately 25,000
households representing 102,500 individuals and257 schools with 170,777 students.

People’s Process: Community-Driven Development and Recovery
The programme’s strategy was anchored on supporting vulnerable target communities through acommunity-driven approach that allows them to be at the center of their community development.
UN-Habitat strongly believes that unleashing the potential of the people is the only way in which all theaffected people can work together for their recovery and development in a short time.
UN-Habitat People’s Process supports and empowers local communities to play a major role in prioritizing
their needs, programme design and implementation of all activities, and improving capacities for leadership,local governance and self-reliance. UN-Habitat provides communities with technical support and guidance
throughout the programme. Much of the construction work has been implemented by allocating funds ininstallments to the organized community. All programme activities are directly executed by UN-Habitat intarget areas through the People’s Process by involving local communities.

Limited WASH
accessibilityin
informal settlements

6%
have access to piped water(26% depend on rainwater)

55%
Share toilets with neighbors.
(11% practice open defecation)59%
frequently dispose of their waste at
a community dumping site.

71%
of people take at least 30 minutes toaccess the nearest health facility.

30%
of income was reduced on average inthe last 12 months after COVID-19.

Most of the COVID-19
recommendations were
almost impossible
to implement
in informal settlements

COVID-19 preventive measures

The purpose of COVID-19 preventive measures was to support vulnerable households
in informal settlements to practice major COVID-19 preventive practices by providing
handwashing stations with soap, health care support packages that contain personal
protective equipment (PPEs), distribution of Information, Education and Communication(IEC) materials, reusable cloth masks and critical cleaning supplies in target communities,schools, and community health clinics.

COVID-19 preventive measuresfor communities

COVID-19 preventive measures
for schools

COVID-19 preventive measuresfor community health clinics

Upgrading basic infrastructure and services

The purpose of upgrading basic infrastrucutre and services was to enhance accessibility
to WASH and clean potable water sources. The project improved/ upgraded roadsegments to/ from water supply systems, improved drainage/ culverts alongside theroads, and installation of solar street lamps.

Enhancing safe water supply

The purpose of activities related to safe water supply was to improve accessibility ofvulnerable households in informal settlements to treated potable water. The project
distributed potable drinking water bottles for 4 consecutive weeks to vulnerable
households because they normally are not able to access treated water, especially in theDry Season.
To improve long-term clean water accessibility in communities and schools, the project
also constructed water supply systems.

Water Supply Systems (Type 1)
for vulnerable communitiesWater Supply Systems (Type 2)
for schools in informal settlements(Tametotto rainwater harvesting tank)Construction of appropriate latrines
with septic tanks

To improve sanitation of the most vulnerable households and schools in informal
settlements, the project constructed household and school latrines that appropriately
manage defecation and minimize risks of virus transmission.

Establishment of solid waste management
system at community levelTo support the communities in building community-led waste management systems,
UN-Habitat Myanmar together with Thant Myanmar implemented solid waste
management (SWM) activities.
Specifically, the project conducted the following activities: a waste audit in selected
communities, a KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices) survey, capacity building trainings
on SWM and segregation, a plastic bag use reduction campaign, waste collection bycommunity volunteers, clean-up campaign, compost making, and animal feeding by usingorganic wastes in cooperation with community volunteer and local authorities.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency of the United Nations
dedicated to promoting socially and environmentally sustainable development of human settlements in anurbanizing world, with the goal of providing safer and inclusive human settlements. The agency provides
technical assistance to countries and cities in the areas of urban governance, urban safety, housing, poverty
reduction strategies, water management, post-disaster rehabilitation and disaster mitigation in humansettlements. During the provision of support, UN-Habitat’s approach, the People’s Process instills capacitiesof hundreds of communities for achieving safer settlements, while delivering cross cutting impacts of localgovernance, sustainable livelihoods, empowerment and capacity building.
The project for “building resilience against COVID-19 through WASH and waste management support inurban informal settlements” had a specific objective to contribute to the country’s effort to control and cut thetransmission of COVID-19 by securing access to and sustain availability of WASH and waste management
services in informal settlements including schools which are being attended by children of the residents, andto reach most vulnerable households with responsible information with the aim to prevent further expansionof the pandemic at home and in the community. Moreover, the project also aimed at improving resilienceof local communities to organize people and worked together with multiple stakeholders in ensuring theefficacy of COVID-19 preventive interventions. UN-Habitat implemented three inter-related components
in 45 locations, 257 schools, and 42 community health clinics in Hlaing Thar Yar, Dagon Seikkan, SouthDagon, Insein, Dala, Shwe Pyi Thar, Thanlyin, and North Okkalapa Townships in Yangon.