Water Sanitation Hygiene

	Water source protection project in Mboki by ACTED Credit: UNICEF/Patrick Laurent

Despite important efforts during the last years, access to safe drinking water is still a challenge in CAR. Only 30.5% of the population (28% in urban and 32% in rural areas) has access to safe drinking water. From a sanitation standpoint the situation is even worse. Only 5% of the population (11% in urban and 2% in rural areas) has access to a functional family latrine. The water and sanitation facilities in community centres (schools, health posts and hospitals) are in most cases also not responding to the basic needs of the populations. Despite the sensitization efforts undertaken during the last four years by the different field actors, hygiene risks behaviour did not change significantly. With close to 2 million beneficiaries in CAR, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster was put in place by the humanitarian community in 2007 with the aim to reduce the morbidity and mortality resulting from water-related diseases among the displaced, refugees and other vulnerable people, especially children under five. The WASH Cluster will also enhance the government’s ability to respond to emergencies.