SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
WASH sector activities are achieved in the 9 refugee camps (4 in Duhok, 4 in Erbil and 1 in Sulaymaniyah). They include:
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Provision of safe drinking water through water trucking and water network (averaging 108 litres/person/day in Erbil, 76 in Duhok and 90 in Sulaymaniyah).
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Operation and Maintenance of water networks, including water quality monitoring continued in collaboration with the government WASH counter parts.
In Erbil, 80 families in Qushtapa camp are already benefiting from WASH facilities including a toilet, shower with roof and connections to septic tanks and main sewerage lines. Construction works for WASH facilities for 315 families in Kawergosk camp to be finalized by end of October 2018.
About 90% completion of construction of two elevated tanks of 30 cubic meters each and extension of feeding pipelines in Domiz 1 camp was achieved. Water access stand at 80 litres/person/day on average in Domiz 1 and 54 litres/person/day in Domiz 2 in Duhok. Due to inadequate pressure on the network and reduced quantity of ground water, additional 270 m3 of water by trucking was provided on a daily basis for 203 families (3840 individuals). In Domiz 2 camp, specifically, there is another challenge of downtime caused by maintenance works on the network.
Water quality continues to be monitored. In September alone 1,198 samples were tested, in Duhok refugee camps and only 2% did not meet the standard, below the range of 0.2-0.5 mg/l of free chlorine residual (FRC) (at household level), and remedial actions have been taken to ensure compliance with quality standards.
Through partnership with the Directorate of Preventive Health, a total of 8 community hygiene promoters were trained and reached out to 1,385 individuals in Domiz 1 and 2 camps raising awareness to the key summer messages of prevention of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)/cholera, and other priority messages of water conservation and menstrual hygiene management.
Routine care and maintenance of the WASH facilities in Domiz 1 and 2 camps were provided which included the repair of 207 showers and toilets, septic tanks, manholes, drainage and three campaigns for the cleaning of debris. During the past month, 1,546 cesspool pits were emptied of wastewater and 1,246 tons of solid waste was collected and transported away from the camp.
In Sulaymaniyah, 90 l/p/day of drinking water continued to be provided to 8,272 refugees and other services such as waste management and sewage channel cleaning was done on a daily basis (excluding Fridays).
Door-to-door hygiene promotion sessions and focus group discussions under the topic of lice prevention continues with the target of 1,002 families.
To support host communities, hosting refugees and displaced families, two new boreholes were drilled in two quarters of Khabat district, Erbil Governorate. The drilled boreholes will provide water to an estimated 20,000 beneficiaries.