Provision of life-saving WASH assistance to affected communities in Balkh, Baghlan and Kapisa OCCD as an active member of the Afghanistan WASH cluster is proposing to implement live-saving WASH activities to enhance safe water availability for the most vulnerable rural communities in the targeted provinces of Balkh, Baghlan and Kapisa. The proposed action will be implemented in the priority communities of Keshendeh, Chemtal, Char Bolak, Nahr-e-Shahi, Dawlat Abad of Balkh Pul-e-Hisar of Baghlan and Hisa-e-Duwum-e-Kohistan of Kapisa.

The action intends to tackle resilience to disease and illness through improvements in WASH infrastructure as well as through improving health and sanitation practices. OCCD aims to improve the health and wellbeing of at least 20,000 affected people by improving their access to clean drinking water, enhancing hygiene knowledge and sanitary practices and reducing the prevalence of waterborne and water-related diseases, e.g. Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD), cholera, etc.  The percentage of people with access to safe drinking water will increase from the initial estimates of 40 percent to 65 percent, and 50 percent of households will have an improved understanding of good hygiene behaviors as opposed to the current baseline of less than 25 percent. In addition, the project aims to reach the result that up to 70 percent of target communities will eliminate open defecation.

Work associated with this project will include: (1) Safe water supply - provision of water in good quality and increased quantity through rehabilitation and/or construction of water resources, frozen pipe repairs and protection, water trucking as last resort. Most common water sources in the communities include, inter alia, boreholes, equipped with hand pumps or mechanized systems with taps, semi-deep wells, shallow wells and locally constructed water reservoirs to save rain/stream water during water scarce periods. (2) Distribution of water quality testers, chlorine tablets or sachets, family filters, kettles for boiling water, jerry cans, buckets, handwashing devices, soaps, hygiene kits, culturally appropriate menstrual supplies, bath-toilets sets, latrines slabs, etc. (3) Provision of appropriate sanitation facilities in households, and schools, including promoting the elimination of open defecation in target communities through CLTS technics. A full CLTS is not feasible due to the nature of the project (emergency) and the timeframe. (4) Conducting health/hygiene education focusing on the continuity of proper water-efficient handwashing with soap at critical times. 

In line with the WASH cluster’s “kite strategy”, to which OCCD is part, the project will continue to adapt the approaches facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes addressing the acute vulnerabilities in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, but also taking into account the current humanitarian crisis contributing to mitigating the COVID-19 transmission and stigmatization, and promoting and build-up on handwashing campaigns.
The action will be implemented in a timeframe of 6 months. This timeframe includes the time required to ensure access to safe and protected water sources improved through the construction of water points and rehabilitation of  water resources safe potable water practices are ensured through the distribution of chlorine and Chlorination campaign and hygiene and sanitation awareness, including on waste management, is delivered to around 20,000 people across the target communities.

Activities planned under this action are informed by OCCD’s vast experience in humanitarian and development programs in the targeted provinces covered by this action. The organization has been working in Afghanistan in the past decade delivering services to the underserved communities. OCCD has been working in the country without interruption since its establishment in 2013.