Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Water for a more dignified life

HECA has been home to recurring humanitarian situations, now turned to be protracted emergencies some lasting for decades such as in DRC and Somalia. To address this, Oxfam is moving away from implementing traditional interventions to adopting sustainable approaches and technology that maximize on minimal resources and are robust enough to be utilized over long periods.

We believe that access to clean, safe water and sanitation is a fundamental human right and component of ensuring a dignified life particularly for people afflicted and made more vulnerable by emergencies. 

Our interventions in the region are aimed at improving access to water through installing water infrastructure such as solar-powered boreholes and hand pumps, promote good hygiene by building latrines and other sanitation facilities as well as encouraging simple practices such as hand washing at the community level.

Tech for water

Innovation is at the heart of our WASH programming looking at technologies that offer better returns in quality and quantity. We are keen to use systems that facilitate sustained access to safe water and sanitation but most important approaches that encourage us to listen to the voices of those we work with so that they can be part of the solutions.

Moving forward, we commit to:

- coordinating with key stakeholders such as other sectoral teams, agencies, and local market actors so as to advocate the implementation of WASH programmes that are comprehensive in addressing community needs and resilience building.

- leading in introduction and adoption of innovative approaches and technologies. This includes influencing local and global practices through applicable research, documentation of our experiences and production of knowledge products.

- advocating for improved WASH services especially for vulnerable and marginalized communities by engaging with regional bodies, national and local governments, private sector entities and other sector agencies.