[Kenyan Chapter] Improving Access to WASH Services for Displaced and Vulnerable Communities

Challenge Background

Accessibility to WASH services is quite a problem for most middle and low income earners. Major towns often carry the burden of having poor WASH facilities that are prone to breakdowns. According to research done by Junghwan Kim et.al found out that in two well known residential areas in Nairobi, 77.4% of people living in Kibera and 60.6% of people living in Mathare had limited WASH facility accessibility. This can be easily extrapolated to other major towns just to indicate the magnitude of the issue. Additionally, arid and semi arid towns and villages suffer even greater challenges due to a lack of infrastructure. Often the consequences are dire including communicable diseases such as Cholera which has recently claimed lives in Garissa among others.

Through this project, we first create awareness through data gathering and visualization to help map out vulnerable areas. Eventually, the goal is to direct action where the need is most likely to have the greatest impact through preemptive solutions.

The Problem

Improve access to WASH services (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) for displaced persons and vulnerable host communities to reduce susceptivity to waterborne diseases and improve livelihoods. More than one million people have been displaced in the region of focus.

Strengthen livelihoods and resilience among households and increase sustainable access to WASH services.

Goal of the Project

Covering the current infrastructure situation of WASH services. Data:

• Have a few surveys, reports, and other data sources but no centralized data pool
• No experience with satellite imagery (but open to exploring)
• Currently talking to other CSOs and data partners to collect more data

Project Timeline

What you'll learn