Campaign On WASH Challenges and Covid-19 Awareness Running In Mabvuku-Tafara
By Community Water Alliance
Community Water Alliance is running a campaign code named Leave No one Behind in Mabvuku and Tafara whose overall objective is to raise awareness of the coronavirus pandemic amongst residents of Mabvuku and Tafara particularly on how the disease is spread and how Covid-19 protocols work to reduce infection rates.
The campaign was launched on the 15th of February at Kamunhu Shopping center in Mabvuku.
Key stakeholders including the Deputy Director Local Government Ms Chisango, City of Harare District officers for Mabvuku and Tafara, ZRP Public Relations and local Member of Parliament.
Community Water Alliance is an implementing partner for the Zimbabwe Covid-19 Response project coordinated by UNICEF and financed by African Development Bank (AFDB).
The overall objective of the Zimbabwe Covid-19 Response project is to limit morbidity and mortality rates related to Covid-19 in Zimbabwe.
Community Water Alliance and Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH) are UNICEF implementing partners that will be working with critical stakeholders like ZRP, District Development Coordinator (DDC), District Officers of the City of Harare, City of Harare Health department, water point committees, Residents Associations, residents and the Media to ensure the overall objective is achieved.
The project is aimed at offering civic education, distribution of hygiene kits in Mabvuku and Tafara to improve hygiene standards, repair non-functional boreholes and installation of new solar powered boreholes to complimented water delivery.
CWA shall also install hand washing stations at public boreholes, markets and bus terminus to promote handwashing culture to citizens of Mabvuku and Tafara.
In order to limit morbidity and mortality rates related to Covid-19 it requires increased potable water supply complimented through repaired boreholes (and new solar powered boreholes) and installed handwashing stations plus Mabvuku and Tafara resident’s interaction with handwashing stations and boreholes (Behavior Change)
Community Water Alliance also conducted a rapid assessment for flooding in Manresa area of Mabvuku after receiving complaints on poor WASH conditions from residents in the area.
The assessment is part of the overall objective to limit morbidity and mortality rates related to COVID19 WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) challenges under the African Development Bank financed Zimbabwe COVID-19 Response Project which is implemented in collaboration with UNICEF.
Community Water Alliance is an implementing partner in supporting access to handwashing facilities and supplying hygiene kits to poor families within Mabvuku and Tafara.
The area assessed falls under ward 46, has 40 housing consortiums and CWA assessed WASH challenges on 440 houses that falls under only 2 housing consortiums, i.e. Federation and Donbrook.
The 2 housing consortiums were specifically targeted for assessment because they house Persons with Disabilities and internally displaced persons.
Donbrook consortium houses 200 members of Light to Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe.
Federation consortium houses 240 members who were displaced from Gunhill.
Preliminary findings from the assessment revealed that the septic tanks that are used on the site have filled up with flooding water and raw untreated sewer is therefore over spilling contaminating unprotected water sources that are main access points for water in the area.
Flooding has also contaminated the shallow wells dug at almost each household.
There is only one bush pump borehole in the area which is not functional. There is serious crisis of safe potable water in the area.
When heavy rains are received many of the houses in the area are flooded with water.
There is urgent need for distribution of water treatment tablets, testing of unprotected sources of water, potable water trucking, buckets for storing safe potable water and soap for regular handwashing.
In short hygiene kits are required immediately whilst medium- and long-term solutions are formulated to save lives. Interventions in the area need to take into consideration special needs for Persons with Disabilities.
#LeaveNooneBehindInCOVID19Response
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*OMMUNITY WATER ALLIANCE INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
