Responding to Critical Lean/Rainy Season WASH Needs of Affected Host Communities in Damboa ltpgtltp style="" class=""gtltspan style="line-height: 115%"gtThe ongoing food security and nutrition crisis in the BAY states of Northeast Nigeria requires urgent WASH interventions especially for households and communities with SAM/cholera cases to ensure that these affected people have safe and sufficient water, sanitation and hygiene, including through the distribution of WASH NFIs given the widespread poverty and the intensity of the lean season characterized by inflation and rising food prices.

The lean season coincides with the rainy season, increasing risk to children’s lives. This is when the incidence of acute watery diarrhea, cholera and other waterborne disease increases, as well as malaria and other disease, causing complications to malnutrition.lt/spangtlt/pgtltp style="" class=""gtltspan style="line-height: 115%"gtltbrgtlt/spangtlt/pgtltp style="" class=""gtltspan style="line-height: 115%"gtFurthermore, the poor
quality of water from available sources in the BAY States shows widespread
faecal contamination with e-coli (WASHNORM 2022) with attendant poor hygienic
practices remains a major source of concern. This poor access to clean and safe
water sources increases the threat of diarrhea and transmission of cholera
outbreaks that exacerbates malnutrition rates among children under the age of
five.lt/spangtltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtltspan style="font-family:"gt





ltbrgtlt/spangtlt/pgtltpgtltspan style="font-family:"gtThe 6 month host-community based
WASH project aims to support the realization of the WASH Sector lean/rainy
season priorities. It ensures support for lt/spangtltspan style="font-family:"gtsevere
acute malnutritionlt/spangtltspan style="font-family:"gt (SAM) and acute water diarrhea (AWD)/Cholera
vulnerable households, while ensuring the availability of sufficient and safe
drinking water supply with free chlorine residual (0.5mg/litre) at point of use
for affected communities. Stabilization centres shall receive enhanced support
and services including training for personnel in monitoring chlorine levels,
monitoring of communities with cases, then tracking these for hygiene
promotion, NFI distribution, solid waste evacuation, and site disinfection..
The intervention shall ensure the functionality of gender-segregated sanitation
facilities and solid waste management through monthly collection across dump
sites in the host community while deepening hygiene promotion focusing on safe
water storage, drainage cleanup, proper handwashing, proper food handling, and
fostering the attainment of open defection free status especially in critical
locations like lt/spangtltspan style="font-family:"gtwater points, public spaces, and household
level.lt/spangtlt/pgtltpgtltspan style="font-family:"gtltbrgtlt/spangtlt/pgt

ltp class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:automso-margin-bottom-alt:auto
line-height:normal"gtltspan style="font-family:"gtApproximately
7,500 people out of the 38,264 out of camp population targeted by the WASH
Sector in 2023 will be provided with sustained access to safe water through
facilities upgrade/maintenance/optimization, regular water point chlorination
(shock chlorination and bucket chlorination) and campaign with culturally
appropriate hygiene messages in local languages at community level using
approaches that include house to house visits and focus groups. Project shall
engage in water quality control and emergency water treatment of turbid water for
households with cases. This will also be emphasized in communities without
communal water sources or relying on rivers and streams as their sources of
water. lt/spangtltspan style="font-family:"gtlt/spangtlt/pgt

ltp class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:automso-margin-bottom-alt:auto
line-height:normal"gtltspan style="font-family:"gtltbrgtThe project facilitates the
provision of safe water through sustained chlorination and the use of Aqutabs
for household water treatment. FREE shall engage in the
distribution of WASH kits with hygiene promotion, rehabilitation of water and
sanitation facilities, composition and training of hygiene
promoters and conducting hygiene and water treatment training at Stabilization
Centres. Project shall engage in distribution of WASH kits for SAM households/communities,
and self-monitoring by the affected households. Before upgrade of facilities,
project shall truck water to New Estate area where critical gaps are causing conflict
between IDPs and hosts. Project shall promote inclusion and protection,
including systematic consultations with women and girls to expand their access and
towards ending gender-based violence.lt/spangtltspan style="font-family:"gtlt/spangtlt/pgtltp class="sceditor-nlf"gtltbrgtlt/pgtlt/pgt