Integrated Rapid Response to WASH Gaps to Prevent Suppress and Interrupt Transmission of  COVID-19 in Idleb City. The project addresses the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in densely populated areas of Idleb sub-district ranked as high in severity of WASH needs. The proposed action will contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic and decrease morbidity and mortality through providing rapid, life-saving Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services to vulnerable, underserved and at risk communities. 

Planned activities respond directly to gaps in WASH service provision which have been jointly identified with the WASH cluster. These are made further more critical by the high risk of COVID-19 in Idleb sub-district, specifically in the dense, over-populated areas targeted in Idleb City. Informed by Big Hearts operational experience with WASH service provision in Idleb City, complementary to our ongoing interventions and designed in full coordination with other actors, the action will scale up water provision and enable improved COVID-19 prevention and response.  

The project will benefit a total of 60,500 conflict affected people living in the Al Gazl station and Street 30 borehole catchment areas of Idleb City. Of these, 28,030 direct beneficiaries are Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), 30,854 are female and 33,274 are children. 

The action will prevent, suppress and interrupt transmission of COVID-19 through increasing and safeguarding access to safe water in areas with identified gaps. Provision of operational and maintenance support to the Street 30 borehole will begin in Dec 2020, meeting the gap in service provision since Big Hearts previous SCHF-funded support to Street 30 ended in Sept 2020. Complementing ongoing SDC-funded assistance, the project will maintain vital operational and maintenance support to the Al Gazl station from February 2021 when SDC funding will close. In coordination with SEMA, WASH services will be improved in two, existing COVID-19 quarantine centers located in the Al Gazl catchment area through connecting these to the primary water network. 

In addition to ensuring access to safe water and informed by Big Hearts participation in established COVID-19 coordination structures, Risk Communication and Community Education (RCCE) activities will be delivered across targeted communities in close coordination with UNDR and Violet. This will include highly targeted distribution of hygiene and sanitation materials (soap, detergents and cloth masks) directly benefitting 17,500 people most vulnerable to the pandemic. The targeting strategy for this component with be informed by close coordination with the COVID-19 Task Force and other members to identify areas with higher C-19 case numbers and areas with dense / inadequate shelter. Vulnerability targeting will then identify households most at risk amp least able to practice positive prevention practices. 

A people-centered approach lies at the heart of the intervention. Programme design reflects the needs, priorities and preferences of beneficiaries identified through monitoring and evaluation of Big Hearts WASH assistance in Idleb City since October 2019. Design of the action also addresses feedback and recommendations from Third Party Monitoring (TPM) of Big Hearts SCHF-funded WASH programming in Idleb City. Specifically, recommendations made to the WASH cluster to assess the possibility of continuing projects to close the water supply gap in Idleb City and increase the number of water tanks distributed. Recommendations regarding gender segregated hygiene promotion activities have already been implemented across Big Hearts WASH programme and will apply to this action, while beneficiary feedback on means to further enhance accountability will also be progressed. 

The action is informed by recent technical assessments of targeted water systems completed by Big Heart WASH staff (included under documents) and significant operational experience with both water systems. As such, proposed activities are evidence-based, technically sound and accurately budgeted.