Improving safe and equitable access to WASH infrastructure and knowledge of safe hygiene practices for vulnerable Syrian refugees and Jordanians, including vulnerable outreach communities in Irbid, Amman, and the southern governorates The proposed project responds to WASH needs of 480 vulnerable Syrian refugee and Jordanian households living in ITS and in substandard host community accommodation. The project will complement an ongoing INTERSOS project funded by EU MADAD, and will allow INTERSOS to address additional urgent WASH needs.

Recent INTERSOS assessments in ITS located in the catchment areas of INTERSOS field offices in Irbid, Amman and Karak have identified continued dependence on untreated trucked water and a deterioration (or absence) of sanitation facilities. Safe water storage continues to the be one of the most significant concern for ITS households, due to inadequate quantity of clean water storage containers, leading to further risk of water contamination before consumption.

INTERSOS has identified inadequate or absent WASH infrastructure as a widespread problem in host community housing occupied (usually rented) by vulnerable refugees and Jordanians, with many of these households also depending on informal (trucked) water supplies or municipal water supply that is compromised (in terms of quality by inadequate plumbing, and many of these households also lacking basic sanitation facilities.

Among households with inadequate WASH infrastructure, people with disabilities (especially children with disabilities) and older adults are disproportionately affected, as even existing facilities are not well-adapted to their needs, particularly in terms of physical accessibility infrastructure such as seating support and hand rails. The project will ensure that WASH infrastructure interventions are tailored to maximize access to these individuals, through a detailed household assessments. Furthermore, protection concerns for women and girls will also be addressed, especially through provision of female/male designated latrines in ITS settings, and installation of solar powered lights on latrines in ITSs to mitigate risks for women and girls (and boys) when accessing WASH services after dark.

INTERSOS will use its Initial Assessment tool, based on the VAF, to shortlist households for further WASH assessment. A detailed WASH assessment will then be conducted in each shortlisted household (see tool in annex 2), and the data used for final household selection. Selection criteria will include access to water and sanitation, protection risks, presence of people with disabilities, and potential to cluster interventions. A baseline survey (including a hygiene KAP) will then be conducted in selected households to determine detailed needs and solutions.
By the end of the second month, WASH infrastructure work will commence in ITS and host community households, according to SPHERE standards, including (i) installation of shared family latrines in ITSs, designated for males and females (ii) distribution of durable household ceramic water filters and (iii) cost effective rehabilitation of WASH facilities for targeted households living in substandard host community accommodation.

Activities will be implemented to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of WASH infrastructure and to achieve improvements in hygiene behaviors, including: (i) establishment of gender balanced WASH committees (ii) provision of latrines cleaning kits (iii) hygiene awareness sessions.

Complementary hygiene behavior change activities will employ the “Hygiene promotion in ITSs Manual”, developed by INTERSOS and endorsed by UNICEF, with content adjusted based on specific gaps identified in the baseline survey. Hygiene awareness sessions will be accompanied by distribution of hygiene and dignity kits to participants. A WASH endline survey and Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM) exercise will be completed during the last month of the project.

An expected 480 families (2,700 individuals) in Irbid, Amman and Karak will directly benefit from WASH infrastructure assistance under this project. 70% of total beneficiaries will be Syrian refugees and 30% will be Jordania