Background
Safe sanitation is a human right and one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nevertheless, some 3.6 billion people around the world do not have access to appropriate sanitary facilities. Approximately 540 million schoolgirls and schoolboys do not have any basic sanitation in their schools and some 780 million people depend on healthcare facilities without any sanitation. Often the knowledge or financial resources required in order to build, operate, renovate or maintain sanitary facilities are missing. Furthermore, the importance of safe hygiene practices is frequently overlooked. Lack of access to safe sanitation affects particularly disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, such as women and girls.
Objective
2,7 million people have been given access to adequate, gender-sensitive sanitation and hygiene. Hygiene and menstrual health practices are integral in people's everyday lives. Sanitary wastewater is properly treated and then reused or returned to the natural water cycle.
Method
The project builds and refurbishes gender-appropriate and inclusive sanitation facilities in schools, healthcare facilities, and religious institutions, and trains specialists to operate and maintain them.
The project promotes hygiene practices through targeted campaigns and knowledge transfer, particularly in the area of menstrual hygiene.
Until June 2023, with funds from the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), the project also contributed to creating a favourable political, financial, and technical framework for sustainable wastewater management.