Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
GWANDA District in Matabeleland South is set to benefit from a US$940 000 emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash), a programme that is aimed at improving access to clean water and promoting health and hygiene practices in communities.
The project titled “Emergency Intervention to improve Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (Wash) access in Matabeleland South (Gwanda District)” is targeting 87 184 beneficiaries. It will be implemented by the International Medical Corps (IMC) in 12 wards with funding coming from USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).
The 12-month project will end in December. IMC will also implement a seven-climate adaptation pilot project which will run until August 30. The project titled “Enhancing climate adaptation and resilience through an innovative nutrition-sensitive agriculture” is being funded by IMC with an initial budget of US$73 000.
Speaking recently during an inception meeting, IMC Wash coordinator Mr Tendekai Madjangove said the emergency Wash project will focus on two key thematic areas which are water supply and hygiene promotion.
“Under the first thematic area, activities that will be done will include solarising 10 high-yielding water points, drilling and solarising water points, and drilling and equipping hand pumps. There will be the rehabilitation of 45 perennial hand pumps,” he said.
“There will be a training of environmental health technicians and 59 water point committees and village pump minders who will be trained on borehole pump maintenance and repair. A total of 118 pump caretakers will be trained on routine operation and maintenance of water points.”
Under the second thematic area of hygiene promotion environmental health technicians and community-based facilitators will be trained on participatory health and hygiene education.
Speaking during the same meeting, IMC food security and agriculture officer, Ms Sifiso Lubimbi said the climate resilience project will first be implemented in two wards and then spread out to others.
“As IMC, we have previously focused on Wash and nutrition-related programmes. We saw it fit to venture into climate change adaptation and mitigation. Climate change is affecting programming in various sectors,” she said.
“We have noted from a needs assessment that after benefiting from Wash projects, communities also need nutrition gardens to utilise the water resources in their areas. Our aim, therefore, is to reduce the effects of climate change using water points that we have put up in communities.”
Ms Lubimbi said for now they are targeting two wards, which will benefit from one-hectare nutrition gardens. She said the project will be implemented where there are high-yielding boreholes to ensure that water supply for household use is not affected. Each garden will benefit 50 households with a target of 20 339 beneficiaries.
“For each benefiting household, we are targeting to have at least one woman who is within the childbearing age range or a child six months to 59 months old for nutrition purposes. This project will grow as time goes on as we hope to expand to more wards and have more nutritional gardens,” she said.
Ms Lubimbi said IMC will help the beneficiaries with the necessary infrastructure and equipment for their gardens. She said they will work with relevant Government departments and existing community structures such as village health workers and community based facilitators. – @DubeMatutu.
Online Reporter