Provision of timely and equitable WASH services to the conflict, epidemic and natural disaster affected populations to address their most urgent needs in terms of WASH and WASH/GBV in 3 prioritized locations in South Sudan Although a new chapter has just opened for South Sudan with the formation of a unified government on February 22nd 2020, major challenges remain ahead and communal violence are believed to persist. In such volatile context, frontline lifesaving response appear as relevant, if not necessary, to address the needs of the most vulnerable and affected populations.

Through this new project, SI will extend the WASH activities initiated under the project SSD-19/HSS10/RA2/WASH/INGO/14811 in Nyirol county, Jonglei State, and start activities in two new counties (Manyo and Maiwut) in Upper Nile State. SI will continue to provide frontline assistance to the most vulnerable communities who are yet to be reached, and in the areas where the WASH needs remain high and uncovered. SI WASH intervention in Nyirol county will be implemented by a static team based in Lankien. The activities will include borehole rehabilitation, hygiene promotion sessions with a COVID19 prevention component. In addition, SI will deploy its EPR team in two other prioritized counties that are poorly covered by humanitarian assistance although classified in IPC 4: Manyo and Maiwut counties in Upper Nile state. As no base can be set in those areas, SI will implement its WASH activities thanks to its EPR team who will be able to access to different payams through several quick and flexible interventions in both counties. SI activities will be strictly in line with the WASH Cluster strategy and will include: access to safe water (through borehole rehabilitation and/or setting up of SWAT systems), hygiene promotion sessions with a COVID19 prevention component, as well as provision of essential WASH and hygiene items. 

Finally, as the Greater Upper Nile region is characterized by a volatile context and is prone to multiple crisis such as population displacement and climate hazards, SI response will be reinforced through mobile capacities. Thanks to SI’s static presence in Nyirol and the identification, equipment and training of focal points in Maiwut and Manyo, a continuous monitoring of the humanitarian situation in all counties will be ensured during the whole project. Should a crisis occurred during the project implementation and an alert be raised, SI will deploy its mobile team in coordination with the WASH Cluster and following the EPR guidelines. Such strategy will allow the affected populations to be reached only few days or few weeks after the crisis depending on the access constraints and the security context. 

All activities will be dealt with a strong gender-sensitive approach, to prevent Gender Based Violence issues around the WASH services and facilities, in accordance with the Do No Harm principle. The WASH team is already trained and will be refreshed on GBV risks and referral pathways. Contact will be made with GBV state focal point in order to ensure that every team member is able to refer survivor to existing services in its location but also to identify and report potential gaps to GBV Sub Cluster. To ensure the respect of AAP principles, SI will implement a complain mechanism for each of its intervention, designed depending on the context of the area of intervention and the population targeted. It will allow to monitor beneficiaries’ satisfaction, concerns and feedbacks, to adapt its intervention, if needed.
To support the WASH Cluster, SI will continue dedicating one expatriate staff to the WASH Cluster Sub National Coordination for Central Equatoria. This position will optimize the coordination between the different WaSH partners, the complementarity with the static partners, the field analysis of the gaps and the needs, the decision based on evidence. Finally, SI will ensure a continuous strong communication with SSHF as to be able to adjust the project to the assessments findings and to any other challenge which could rise during the project implementation.