PROFA Uganda

PROFA Uganda WASH Programme

Out of 500 hundred people who are in need of assistance, 150 people will be targeted with WASH by PROFA Uganda between 2020 - 2023. Through an integrated approach, PROFA’s WASH Programme focuses on interventions targeting acute vulnerabilities with the use of appropriate WASH minimum packages. PROFA WASH Programme will prioritize households’ access to safe WASH including household water treatment and hand washing in areas identified through severity mapping as having high global acute malnutrition rates, areas with a high risk of famine, vulnerability to water/vector borne outbreaks, and face abnormally increased impacts from natural hazards. WASH response focusing on GBV mitigation will be prioritized in counties experiencing conflict and displacement, informed by locations provided by the GBV sub-cluster.

The first objective of PROFA Uganda WASH Programme focuses on addressing the critical problems related to physical and mental well-being while decreasing the proportion of global acute malnutrition and acute food insecurity. WASH response activities will be integrated into the nutrition response through a famine prevention minimum package that will target mother/caretaker and malnourished children from the nutritional centers up to the household level. Under this objective, PROFA WASH Programme will also address cattle and small-stock water requirements, and the mitigation of animal open defecation in household compounds, near water points and playing areas. The second objective is to integrate WASH in health response to control outbreaks at the wider community level through a WASH-Epidemiology approach. This will address the risk factors and transmission contexts at the geographical level. To reinforce this, PROFA WASH Programme will conduct a large-scale response that focuses on hand-washing with soap, for example at schools, or with chlorinated water in public places like markets.

PROFA Uganda WASH Programme third objective will address the critical problems related to living standards and ensure equitable access to cross sectoral basic services. Timely, sustainable and equitable access to safe WASH will be ensured for IDPs, host communities and returnees under this objective. The response will also focus on long-term solutions via a market-based approach for items such as soap and hand pump spare parts with quality control. Additionally, the AAP process will be used to promote community ownership for services such as mini solar powered water yards and/or desalination stations. This will also promote disaster risk reduction mitigation methods, such as site selection of elevated or better protected and appropriate site boreholes in flood zones to prevent face - oral waterborne disease.

Through the WASH Programme objective, the Programme will mitigate WASH related gender-based issues. Through GBV safety audit conducted by female staff with women, girls and children prior to the construction/rehabilitation of WASH infrastructure, the Cluster will increase safe access to drinking water points and sanitation services in and outside settlements. Integration with the Camp Coordination and Camp Management service, the new and previously unreached displaced populations will be provided with services by improving needs-based and protection sensitive access to WASH services for IDPs and GBV mitigation.

New needs with the increasing urban settings and the possible scenario of returnees and refugee arrival in 2020 will be the main triggers for change in PROFA WASH Strategic Plan. With the COVID-19 Pandemic and in case of the EVD outbreak, the WASH response will scale up hand washing stations with chlorinated water at a wider community level, targeting mainly all public places such as markets and schools. Over the three years’ period, PROFA WASH Programme will continue to work through a combined presence of static and mobile partners, as per the needs of and access capabilities to the areas.