Life-saving health and WASH program to crisis-affected populations in Beletweyne and Bulaburte districts, Hiraan region, Somalia. The proposed program will provide high-quality and free HEALTH and WASH services through 3 static health centers (2 in Beletweyne and 1 in Buloburte), 2 Stabilization Centers (1 in Beletweyne and 1 in Buloburte), 2 Cholera Treatment Centers (1 in Beletweyne and 1 in Buloburte), 3 health mobile teams (2 in Beletweyne and 1 in Bulaburte), and at the community level, including increased access to water and sanitation, health promotion, case detection and referral. This three-pronged approach is part of Mercy-USA's strategy to respond to populations' immediate needs under distress by supporting the public health facilities, public WASH infrastructure, and the MOH and the MoEW to implement HEALTH and WASH interventions in line with available guidelines, reaching directly more than 48,000 vulnerable people (29,000 in Beletweyne and 19,000 in Bulaburte), including 7,200 people with disabilities.
Mercy-USA will increase access to quality health services with a special focus on maternal and neonatal health by ensuring that every level of the health pyramid is adequately supported. Emergency Reproductive Health Services for underserved and hard-to-reach populations, including safe motherhood through clean delivery, family planning, and emergency obstetric care, will be provided. Additionally, health staff will be trained to provide GBV services and psychosocial support.
Mercy-USA will support the provision of routine EPI activities. This will continue to increase immunization coverage among women and children lt5 years, IDPs, nomadic groups, and remote or difficult to access communities.
Through the support of 2 SC and 2 CTC, Mercy-USA will ensure cholera treatment and treatment of children with acute severe malnutrition with complications, and integration with other planned health and WASH activities for diseases prevention and control. 
To ensure community engagement and improved health-seeking behaviors, hygiene promotion and health education on malnutrition, common illnesses such as malaria and diarrhea, as well as AWD/Cholera and COVID-19 will be provided at the community level by CHWs and CHPs. Community workers will be linked to health facilities and will work together to increased case detection and referrals.
Environmental and Sanitation Committees will be created, trained, and equipped with sanitation tools to provide cleaning campaigns.
In addition, the provision of hygiene kits will be ensured, including female-specific hygiene items and water containers to ensure water treatment and proper storage practices.
The WASH activities will aim to provide safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene to drought-affected and at risk populations, including IDP camps and rural communities. Mercy-USA will rehabilitate and/or provide an extension of existing water infrastructures, construct new water infrastructure (water kiosks, tap stands) in both districts, targeting mainly overcrowded IDP sites in Beletweyne. Additionally, Mercy-USA will construct 12 shallow wells to provide water to more than 4,800 people, and rehabilitate and upgrade (with solar systems) 2 boreholes in Bulaburte (Qansaxle and Calasow) and 1 additional shallow well in Bulaburte hospital. Mercy-USA will establish gender-balanced WASH committees, for ensuring self-reliance and sustainability.
To immediately respond to the most urgent needs, Mercy-USA will support 300 the most vulnerable households in IDP sites in Beletweyne with water provision (voucher modality) for the first 90 days, and 1,020 households in 3 villages in Bulaburte with water trucking for 60 days.
Secondly, Mercy-USA will improve access to sanitation through the installation of new sanitation facilities in settlements hosting newly displaced populations due to drought and conflict and at high risk of AWD/cholera outbreak. Additionally, Mercy-USA will construct VIP latrines in the supported facilities to improve sanitation and disease vector control to ensure patients safety.