Water Sanitation and Hygiene

Location: Mzimba & Rumphi, northern Malawi

In partnership with: Small Producers Development and Transporter’s Association

The majority of households in the rural communities in which Hope for a Child operates struggle to access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Awareness levels of the importance of good hygiene – such as hand washing and safe waste disposal – are also low.

“The aim of this project is to improve health and reduce mortality rates caused by water and sanitation related diseases among 3,500 people in 5 communities.”

The result of low standards of hygiene is a high prevalence of water and sanitation-related diseases. Child mortality rates due to preventable causes such as cholera and diarrhoea are high. Women also travel great distances to collect water, exposing them to other dangers, and uses valuable time that could be more productively spent.

The aim of this project is to improve health and reduce mortality rates caused by water and sanitation related diseases among 3,500 people in 5 communities.

We are doing this by:

• Drilling 3 new boreholes and rehabilitating 4 old broken ones.

• Helping households to construct improved covered latrines.

• Providing hygiene training to households in handwashing, and how to live in a clean, safe environment.