CO-Implementation of WASH in Imvepi sett The principal objective of the proposed intervention is to contribute to reduction of vulnerabilities and suffering of PoC in Imvepi refugee settlement through stabilized, increased and sustained supply of potable water, improved sanitation and adoption of good hygiene practices. The aim of the intervention is to enable men, women and children living in Imvepi settlement to protect themselvesagainst WASH related risks through the upgrade, optimization and sustainable management of WASH facilities and services.

1. Supplyof potable water increased or maintained
Inadequate and insufficient supply of water and sanitation for refugees and hosting populations is varied and inconsistent. Access to sufficient amounts of water remains a challenge particularly in the areas not reached bythe current pipeline network and with no alternative sources of water.

In 2018, Imvepi settlement had different WASH partners involved in drilling <(>&<)> motorization of the improved and expanded hybrid water systems and todate, motorised water systems (22)  are operational. In addition, due to a number of WASH stakeholders operational in the settlement, there are issues with standards and lack of harmonized approaches e.g. two of the motorised systems handed over to Oxfam to manage are not hybrid (either generator onlyor solar only) making them unreliable incase of an outage or low solar irradiation while 4 sytems have no chemical dozers installedmaking operators to rely on batching with is an occupational risk considering the tower heights and risks of inconsistency in chlorine levels, sometimes water quality is not being monitored. Monthly Zonal WASH monitoring visits have irregular low to zero FRC levels which exposes supplied water to post distribution contamination in areas where safe water chain is not practiced.

At tap stand level, water user committees have been established and trained with their roles largely on management of water tap stands. High breakdown of the water taps and wastage of treated and pumped water at the draw points remain a major challenge with large costs incurredon replacement and repairs.  Hand pumps are prone to persistent breakdowns, some of the schemes continue to face breakdowns requiring replacement of parts or equipments, yet water users are not mobilising local resources for maintenance and repair of the water supply units. There is too a gap in water governance structures for the motorised water systems, that would take care of longer term engagement with the communities and government.

In order to achieve the main and specific objectives of this project, Oxfam is proposing to upgrade water supply systems from single solar or generator powered to hybrid (solar <(>&<)> generator), which was already started by WASH Operational and implementing partners in 2018. The upgrade of water systems will increase water availability in the settlement, improve the equitability of distribution and decrease the running costs. In addition to ensuring that existing water infrastructure is well maintained and functional at all times through ensuring existence of critical back up equipment and or linkages with private sectors, will optimize existing water infrastructure e.g. extend water pipe line where possible to places currently not served.  Much as we plan to extend water pipelines from existing systems, will consider a technical audit on the current systems to ascertain how feasible it is to avoid destabilizing the existing sytems

To strengthen the WASH structures through refresher trainings and follow up  on their roles and responsibilities on basic maintenance e.g. changing taps, monitoring <(>&<)> identifying leakages, repairing leakages, operating valves etc. to enable them regularly inspect and perform repairs / maintenance on the pipeline anddistribution points at block / village level in addition to mobilising and educating communities about taking ownership of established WASH systems and the need to contribute user fees for systems operation and maintenance on sustainable basis.
Strengthen the linkage with sub county pump mechanic associations through refresher training.

Will consider establishment of a sustainable O<(>&<)>M framework that is community based/ managed for standalone water points and linkages with higher level water management structures inorder to sustain functionalities of the water systems and maintain access to safe water. Additionally, need for vulnerability assessment to determine beneficiaries ability to pay and potential linkages with livelihoods activities will be undertaken to foster community contribution to operation and management of installed systems

In 2018, OXFAM with UNHCR funding, supported development of water quality monitoring framework that will be adopted to guide sustainable management of water qualitywithin the refugee settlement in 2019.

2. Population lives in satisfactory conditions of sanitation and hygiene
Current HH latrine coverage in Imvepi settlement is estimated at 61% , household latrines constructed early 2017 have started filling up, increasing number of pupil enrolments has added pressure onto the existing institutional sanitation facilities with latrine stance pupil ratio currently averaging to 1:93 against a government standard of 1:40 .

In the past 2 years, households made hugeeffort to construct their own latrines however, the designs are irregular and inconsistent especially in terms of height of the wall structure, door sizes, roofing / thatching and other general finishing.

The pace of latrine construction in Imvepi settlement is limited to some extent by ground formation which is characterised by hard rock, collapsible soils and water logging in some areas. Even with construction of permanent waste banks at the market places, solid waste management continues to remainsa major challenge with poor/ inappropriate waste management practices being exibitted.In addition, there is lack of a strategy for solid wate management chain from primary to final disposal.

In 2019, the project will continue to work towards a sustainable sanitation solution through ongoing support to construction of household latrines, found to have a high level of user acceptability and easy maintenance. Using the same available support, will work with community onputting up demonstration latrines in a few key strategic locationsto in the settlement to aid construction, technically support andguide PoC to conform to health standards in siting and construction of latrines, waste water and solid waste management.
Will consider contingency of communal latrines to respond to emerging needs in case of new refugee arrivals. In addition, will coordinate withthe sub county to streamline the entire value chain from containment, transport, treatment, disposal/re-use of solid waste.

As sector lead, Oxfam in coordination with Imvepi WASH partners to carry out an assessment in the settlement to map out ground formation in different zones / blocks. Assessment results will aid decisions on alternative sanitation options / technologies suitable for these difficult environments.

# Environmental health and hygiene campaigns implemented:
Due to different WASH stakeholders that have been active in the settlement aiming at addressing the critical WASH needs of the PoC, there are issues with standards, packages in terms of kits and WASH structures (sometimes a bit parallel mainly on functions and responsibilities) which, need to be harmonised.

The hygiene and sanitation technical working group has made effort to harmonise the current hygiene and sanitation approach however the same activities are done regularly most since emergency time.

There are also challenges in maintaining the safe water chain between the water points and households, maintaining the practice of handwashing at critical times and safedisposal of children faeces.Will emphasise use of more interactive and visual methods to collect information and promote safe hygiene practices at household <(>&<)> community levels.

Threats of environmental degradation as a result of water and sanitationinfrastructure are increasing.  Filled up communal latrines and construction of water points often affect the environment.  Environmental protection initiatives will need to be mainstreamed in the project.

In 2019, Oxfam will continue to support <(>&<)> strengthen the working group, promote harmonisation of different hygiene and sanitation packages where it will prove beneficial.
Additionally, streamline the existing communityWASH structures to ensure thy are performing their roles and responsibilities ina well coordinated manner.

Up to 83 Community hygiene promoters (CHPs) based on a standard of 1CHP/ 500 people, 16 Community Based Mobilisers (CBMs) and 215 tap-stand committee members are operating in the settlement for close to a year. These people are mainly refugees living within the communities that they aremobilising. Numbers of Community Hygiene These structures will be reviewed based on the current context
These members have been trained on participatory approaches to mobilise people to practice good hygiene both at household level and the general environment. The CHPs are currently paid a monthly incentive but the tap stand committee members work on a voluntary basis with the responsibility of mobilising the water point users to keep the water point clean and observe the safe water chain. Like the CHPs, the CBMs receive a monthly incentive.

Through out the project cycle, Oxfam will continue to strengthen gender balance and women led community based WASH management structures as a priority as this aims to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of the established infrastructures and continued behaviour and practice changes.

In school settings, Oxfam endeavoured to construct separate latrines for boys and girls and this is being maintained in the construction of the permanent structures in the schools. In 2019, effort will be made toconsult both girls and boys to ensure that their views especially around MHM and privacy are taken and referred to the responsible IP for consideration. Monitoring and project update reports will also better reflect views of women, men, girls and boys. Oxfam willtry to have a better understanding on who have access to the different facilities put in place i.e. water at household level, ease of use andmaintenance of repaired / rehabilitated hand pumps and latrines etc. Views / feedback/ information of different gender groups including children will be continuously used to shape WASH interventions.

# Operations management, coordination and support strengthened and optimized

There is need for continuous monitoring, analysis and learning / review of strategies and approaches to match the ongoing sustainable durable solutions.

Need to harmonised diverse WASH standards across the settlement,

The proposed project will provide support to build capacity of staff to respond to emerging needs of long term programming and procurement of supplies for maintenance of water systems and office.