South Kordofan Emergency WASH response for returnee and war affected populations South Kordofan is considered one of the states with the greatest humanitarian assistance needs in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese government and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF). In April 2013, the SRF attacked several areas in South Kordofan, including the Abu Kersholla locality, causing significant displacement into the
neighboring states. Before the conflict, the estimated total population was140,000 people in the Abu Kersholla locality. Recently, about 98,000 people are currently living in displacement in the El Rahad locality, Um Rowaba locality
and El Obeid city, as well as in the White Nile and Khartoum states. At the onset of the crisis in May 2013, the HAC led an assessment with the participation of the Sudan Red Crescent and SIDO to determine the size, demographics, location and key priorities of the affected populations in North Kordofan state. SIDO also represented CAFOD in the assessment as an ongoingpartner.In February 2014, CAFOD participated in an assessment conducted by HAC and the inter-sector technical mission to identify current needs in the Abu Kersholla locality. An estimated 34,395 returnees were identified as requiring urgent WASH support. An average of 7 households per day are returning to the locality, and WASH needs are only expected to increase if services are not restored in the area including the water supply and sanitation facilities. As
of early February, HAC/IOM have registered and verified 12,895 people (1560 households) to have returned to Abu Kersholla town, including 6,287 males; 6,608 females and 1,803 children under 5 years old. On average, there are at least 7 households returning each day to the locality including Khor Eltina area. According to the HAC and World Food
Program (WFP), an estimated 36,000 displaced people were temporary settled by local authorities into schools and informal settlements amongst friends and relatives in El Rahad town and the greater locality. 

UPDATE: In late May, CAFOD’s WASH Programme Officer completed a monitoring visit to Abu Kersholla in Khor Eltina area along with partner SIDO. In this area, only 1 out of 3 hand pumps were found to be functioning, with all 7,200 people dependent  on this sole hand pump to provide them with water for drinking, livestock usage and all other needs. Currently, people are spending 3- 5 hours (see photo) queuing to fill their jerry cans, as was explained to CAFOD
staff. A significant risk of hand pump malfunction exists due to over-usage, as it is currently being used 24 hours per day. This would be a disastrous outcome due to the complete community reliance on the source, and furthermore because
the local authorities have no capacity to repair damaged facilities. After the CAFOD and SIDO team visited the area, another technical team (consisting of Geo-physic survey specialists, pumping test technicians and SIDO technical
supervisor) was dispatched to determine possible options to increase water points, with a geophysical survey completed to identify where boreholes can be sunk. Two possible options were identified, although  the water yield is low. However, this is appears to be the only option available to ensure the community accesses sufficient water to meet basic needs and save lives. Currently, there is no official body responsible for water resource management, including ensuring that water systems are appropriately maintained and repaired when necessary. Before the conflict, the water sources were managed by the Drinking Water Corporation (DWC). The staff fled during the attack, however, and have not yet resumed work. The community manage the operating hand pump to avoid conflict in the hand pump.  Community
leaders have explained that there are no existing means to repair or rehabilitate hand pumps. The community does not possess spare parts or tools for hand pump maintenance, however, accounting for why more than 70% of the hand pumps are presently out of service.

The lack of adequate water and sanitation has a disproportionately negative effect on the lives of women and children. In Abu Kersholla locality, women and children are traditionally responsible for water collection, and often have to spend long time for up to 3-5 hours to do so because of the lack of functional community water points. This prevents them from engaging in other activities, such as education for children as well as livelihoods and domestic activities for the women.
Additionally, the water is often obtained from unclean and unsafe sources, which can have negative impacts on health. 
Diarrhea has clear linkages to poor water quality and sanitation, and this condition has recently been on the rise in the area. Records from Abu Kersholla Health Center indicated that diarrhea and malaria were the most common diseases reported during December (431 cases) and January (132 cases) and at above average rates. The project would ensure increased access to safe water for the community, and in the process, decrease the suffering of women, men, children and the elderly. The total consultations during the month of January 2014 of 2267 patients out of them 710 Malaria cases, 132 Diarrhea cases, 72 Giardiasis cases, and 34 skin diseases.

The overall objective of the project is to increase access to WASH services for 7,200 (3,150 women, 1,738 men and 2,312 children) returnees and conflict-affected populations in Abu Kersholla locality in South Kordofan state. This life-saving outcome will be achieved through the construction of water points and increasing community capacities in water resource management through the establishment.  This project has been designed to use a participatory approach to engage the community from the project outset, to establish a sense of ownership of the WASH resources from project  commencement. This intervention comes as a result of Abu Kersholla emergency WASH response SDN017 which is currently being implemented by SIDO in Alfaied and KhorAldalayib area the HAC in south Kordofan state asked for this intervention because they trusted the quick response by CAFOD and SIDO.

RESULTS & ACTIVITIES
1)   7,200  (3,150 women, 1,738 men and 2,312 children) have increased access to  safe water (at least 20 liters per person per day) in Khor Eltina through the construction of one water points According to the joint assessment report, the only one working hand pump available in the target locations do not support the population of the entire area. Households spend an average of 3-5 hours every day to collect 2 jerry-cans (20 liter capacity each) per day. The water primarily used for drinking and cooking is not treated, while animals share the water sources used by people thus causing further
contamination. In order to address these needs, new water points (mini capacity water yards) would be constructed following the drilling of new boreholes in the project location.  Generators (12.5 KVA), submersible pumps, and pipelines will be used to lift water from the borehole also elevated tank capacity of 25 M3 will be installed. Tap-stands and animal troughs will also be fitted to create water collection points for people and livestock usage, with these different areas being both separated and protected.  The technology of water supply system employed is widely used in South Kordofan state for ease of operation and maintenance. 

2)  Mechanisms are in place to ensure the sustainability of water resources through the establishment of WASH mmittee
(15 members each) and 20 people trained in water resource management.Through the establishment of WASH committees, the project will work to ensure that these groups develop mechanisms to efficiently maintain water points and complete repairs in the event of a breakdown. Selected water point attendants will be given appropriate training and provided with basic tools for ensuring simple issues with the equipment are addressed in good time to ensure longevity of the system. Upon completion of activities, the community will take over responsibility for operation and maintenance in coordination with the Abu Kersholla locality. For instance, chlorine tablets will be provided by the locality as agreed through initial discussions.  Beneficiaries will pay water tariffs to the committees to fund water system operation and maintenance. These mechanisms and hygiene-related learning will continue to be applied even after the project ends, ensuring the sustainability of the project interventions. The target participants of the training will be the WASH committee members and who will be trained by specialists from the Ministry of Water in South Kordofan.


3)   7,200 people benefit from an improved hygienic environment through the construction of drainage systems and
completion of 4 cleaning campaigns. In Khor Eltina area, there are currently no sanitation services operating and a
substantial need to conduct community cleaning campaigns. Due to the increasing amounts of waste around the dwellings, cleaning tools rakes, brooms and baskets will be provided and local donkey carts will be hired to transport the waste material to disposal areas. The community will be mobilized to participate in garbage collection and disposal, and provided with tools to facilitate this process. Also during the rainy season, which already started, the project will
support the construction of a drainage system through the provision of drainageconstruction tools. This will be done in order to prevent stagnant water and vectors of diseases, particularly mosquitoes and flies. Construction of the drainage
system will be critical at the start of the rainy season. This will be accompanied by community based awareness sessions to help eliminate points of water stagnation and vector breeding. Similar activities with the Abu Kersholla displaced population in the neighboring El Rahad and Abgur resulted in a marked reduction in flies and mosquitoes following such campaigns, and the lessons learnt will be used to ensure the success of these activities.  

4)   Beneficiaries demonstrate improved hygiene behaviors’ and environmental awareness through training and hygiene promotion activities.The target communities will be trained on hygiene promotion and environmentalawareness in order to improve hygiene practices and community health.  Female hygiene promoters will engage with bneficiaries through dialogue and hygiene promotion sessions. In total 20women will receive hygiene promotion and environmental awareness training toempower them to help improve community conditions.
Thetrainees will be volunteers chosen based on their interests, their suitabilityin the eyes of the community and willingness to act as change agents.  KAP surveys will be conducted upon completion
of the activities to measure the behavior changes observable in the short-term.