Habitat’s WASH successes

Women in Fiji have historically been excluded from water committees that have governance over community WASH decisions. Habitat Fiji’s Water for Women project has helped 36 women across 18 rural communities in the Ba and Ra provinces join water committees and become WASH leaders. The project also engages with schools to help raise awareness of and provide information about WASH-related topics, including menstrual hygiene. 

In Akaki-Kality Sub-City, an informal settlement in Addis Ababa, open waste disposal was once the only option for families. With no system in place, household trash would pile up, putting residents at risk of vector-borne diseases. A one-year solid waste management project, implemented in partnership with the local government, reached over 7,900 residents. Bins were distributed for waste segregation, and a composting facility was constructed to serve the area. Beyond health outcomes, the project helped 25 women and young people generate income through waste collection and compost production.

Jordan, one of the world’s 10 driest countries, continues to face significant pressure from regional displacement. In Marka Camp, home to about 65,000 people, Habitat Jordan upgraded water and drainage infrastructure to reduce flooding, improved safe water access, and strengthened sanitation and public health. These improvements helped 149 households gain safer, more reliable water sources and benefited 24,000 residents through enhanced community drainage systems. In East Amman, Habitat also repaired household water and plumbing systems, rehabilitated bathrooms, fixed storage tanks, and addressed drainage and moisture issues, helping nearly 100 households improve their water access.

Uncollected waste, informal dumping sites and a lack of access to drinking water have created major health hazards for the 36,000 residents of Peace Island, a large informal settlement in Monrovia, Liberia. In partnership with World Hope International, Cities Alliance and the Liberian government, Habitat helped build a water system equipped with two deep wells, two solar-powered pumps, a water tower, and water treatment facilities that serve more than 70% of the Peace Island community. The project also created a solid waste management system with timely door-to-door waste collection, paired with composting and recycling as part of an integrated approach. 

Habitat Indonesia provided reliable access to safe, treated water to more than 2,700 households in drought-prone regions. This helped minimize health risks caused by drinking water from contaminated sources and reduced reliance on emergency supplies from government water trucks. Habitat Indonesia promoted community ownership through committees that maintain water supply systems and monitor water quality. Households pay for water based on a consumption tariff, which is key for long-term sustainability, especially in regions facing climate variability and resource constraints.   

Habitat Egypt and partners implemented an integrated WASH project across four target communities, combining household improvements, hygiene awareness and community mobilization. Through WASH-focused microfinance, families were able to improve water connections, water meters and filtration systems, sanitation and sewage connections, household toilets, and water lift motors. We reached nearly 100 households with WASH improvements and 300 families with hygiene awareness efforts. 

Nearly half of all Brazilian households lack adequate access to basic sanitation. In response, Habitat Brazil has installed handwashing stations and water tanks, renovated shared bathrooms, and built cisterns to store rainwater. In 2020, Habitat Brazil built 404 community sinks throughout 218 communities, enabling 121,000 people to wash their hands each day. And the cisterns provided access to 1.2 million liters of drinkable water in Brazil’s northeastern semiarid region in 2020. 

In Makululu, an informal settlement in Kabwe, Zambia, thousands of families live without reliable access to clean water or safe sanitation — conditions that impact health and make daily life a challenge. Through a community-driven WASH project supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, or BMZ, Habitat Zambia worked alongside residents and the local government to bring clean water and safe sanitation to over 16,000 residents. The project delivered 15 solar-powered water kiosks and 80 household toilets, alongside handwashing stations and disability-inclusive sanitation blocks with menstrual hygiene management provisions in four schools. “Before, we used to get scared when it started raining; we thought the toilet would fall at any time,” says Mary, a resident of Makululu. “Now we have a safe, private toilet with a proper bathroom. My family no longer depends on neighbours.”