Programme

Water, sanitation and hygiene

Lack of access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene services causes frequent diarrhoeal diseases and malabsorption phenomena.

UNICEF Chad/2018/Sangmooh Han

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Challenges

Access to basic drinking water services is at 43 per cent and to sanitation is at 10 per cent (Joint Monitoring Programme, 2017). Less than one in two children has access to safe drinking water, while only one in ten has access to improved sanitation and one in 17 children wash their hands with soap and water. The open defecation rate in Chad is 68 per cent, at the national level.

Lack of access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene services causes frequent diarrhoeal diseases and malabsorption phenomena, contributing to malnutrition, especially chronic malnutrition, in young children. In July 2017, the Government adopted the National Strategy for Sanitation in Chad (NSS), which defines its commitment to achieving the SDGs.

This strategy was completed in 2018 with the adoption of the roadmap for a Chad free from open defecation by 2030. To reach SDG 6.2.1, one million Chadians must cease this practice every year, between now and 2030. The national roadmap targets 9.5 million Chadians and will cost $160 million; The cost for the first phase (2018-2021) is $17 million.

Solutions

Two girls are gathering water at a well in Ndjamena, the capital of Chad. For every child, clean water.

UNICEF/UN0294600/DEJONGH

Chad made important progress to have a more enabling environment for Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). For the first phase (2018-2021) 8 priority provinces are identified which specifically target 3,000 000 people in 6 000 villages. For the last two years, UNICEF supported 68,000 people to live in ODF free communities.

Due to a lack of common approach, progress was slow. So, a district-wide approach is now adopted. CLTS is being used for demand creation and as an intersectoral strategy with Nutrition and Education. UNICEF is supporting the Directorate of Sanitation for a monitoring mechanism providing information that supports decision-making. POST-OFD strategy is picking up slowly to maintain behaviour change.

UNICEF plans to support directly 1,400,000 additional people by 2021 (Chad Key Results for Children #8).

At the same time, UNICEF also supported the implementation of these regulatory and policy documents, 145 child protection committees have been created since 2016; 86 communities have declared their support to the fight against child marriage and FGM; social mobilization activities around child marriage and female genital mutilation reached 685,233 people.

In the implementation of the Civil State Registry Evaluation’s recommendations, some 500 professionals have been trained on birth registration in 2018 alone. In order to improve the care of vulnerable children in contact with the law, the institutional and technical capacities of state institutions and services have been strengthened, with 232 professionals receiving training on the treatment and care for children in contact with the law.

Children are washing their hands and refresh themselves at a well nearby their school in the village of Gally, in the center of Chad. In Chad, one in 17 children wash their hands with soap and water. Simply washing hands with soap and water can reduce by one-third the spread of diseases related to dirty hands such as diarrhea. For every child, clean water and a clean environment.

UNICEF/UN0294596/DEJONGH

Unicef Chad/2019/Frank Dejongh

Due to a lack of common approach, progress was slow. So, a district-wide approach is now adopted. CLTS is being used for demand creation and as an intersectoral strategy with Nutrition and Education.

UNICEF is supporting the Directorate of Sanitation for a monitoring mechanism providing information that supports decision-making. POST-OFD strategy is picking up slowly to maintain behaviour change. UNICEF plans to support directly 1,400,000 additional people by 2021 (Chad Key Results for Children #8).