Provision of alternative energy sources (solar) to support desalinization plans  to guarantee access to sustainable, adequate and safe drinking water for vulnerable population in Gaza Strip This action is an immediate response to ensure that girls, boys, women, men, elderly with and without disabilities have sufficient means to respond to their WASH related needs. Specifically, the action aims at improving access to drinking water supply by installing solar panel systems for 9 private desalination plants (PDPs), committed to work during emergency. In Gaza Strip (GS), drinking water is largely supplied by PDPs, which provide more than 4 MCM/year to Gaza households, representing 95% of the water used for drinking and 67% of the water used for cooking.  The action responds to the issues and needs raised by the PWA and WASH Cluster, specifically the criticality of the drinking water services currently prevailing in the GS and their inability to meet the needs and water quality standards, because of insufficient power supply, lack of basic technical qualifications and skills of water treatment, and the government’s limited resources. In line with this, the overall objective of the action is to enhance access to safe drinking water supply, as well as ensuring the provision of safe drinking water to respond to immediate needs, securing quantity and quality of minimum standards of water supplies for the affected population during emergencies. The installation of solar panel system allows to overcome the electricity and fuel’s availability problems and to sustain the efficiency of the desalination plants, increase electrical sustainability and allow for increased water production at reduced cost, this increasing the access to safe water to vulnerable people.  The selection of 9 PDPs is  based on the findings of the 2018 GVC study titled “Drinking Water Distribution Mapping During Crises in the Gaza Strip, with Desalination Plants of Private Vendors”, endorsed by the WASH cluster and PWA. The study aimed to re-map the capacity of the private vendors and the water trucking for preparedness and response, based on population's geographical distribution of the GS governorates. The selected PDP present high capacity in terms of production, storage and distribution, water quality and the ability to distribute water and cover more than one governorate and are committed to work under crisis conditions. The plants are located as follows: 1 in North Governorate 2 in Gaza Governorate 2 in Middle Area 2 in Khan Younis Governorate and 2 in Rafah Governorate. In line with the HPF allocation, the Action aims to maintain, through provision of alternative source of energy, minimum operations of PDPs in the GS, which in turn will lead to maintain water access in communities living in deteriorated public health conditions. In fact, the project addresses the significant humanitarian needs linked to the lack of accessibility to safe drinking water during normal caseload and emergency situations. The provision of improved access to safe water through better water supply system will reflect the different usages of water, and also directly impact family health. In addition, the action also foresees the implementation of capacity building on operation and maintenance of solar panel systems through capacity building targeting the operators and workers of the desalination plants to ensure that its life is preserved and the original conditions of the system are sustained.  The proposed action will be implemented jointly by GVC and RWDS, based on their longstanding experience in joint implementation (WASH emergency projects, such as one project funded by OCHA in 2018 three funded by UNICEF in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and another one funded by AECID with a huge component on installation of solar panels, 2018. Coordination with WASH Cluster and its members through the Renewable and Sustainable Solar Energy Coordination Task Force, as well as communication with PWA, have been carried out during the design of this proposal and will continue during its implementation. The action will contribute to The National WASH Sector Contingency Plan in the GS targeti