Sanitation for Refugees

N/A

Current status

Since the armed conflict in 1992, the Georgian population of Abkhazia, an autonomous republic in Georgia fled their homes. The Georgian government and international relief organisations provided preliminary housing, where many of them are living until today. Sanitary conditions and equipment is not human worthy. The refugees live in the refugee centers permanently without hope of changing their situation in the near future. Their sanitary conditions desperately need improvement.

The project provides to build a public dry-urine diverting toilet for the hospital, in order to ensure access to safe and comfortable sanitation for the patients and health personnel.
A local project committee will be established and the community will be empowered to manage the project that improves their living conditions. The waste will be properly sanitized and used in agriculture by the community. It will serve as a demonstration model for UD toilets. The Georgian ministry of housing and demography and health committed themselves to provide 40% co-funding for the toilet. Implementation will be in close cooperation with the Georgian ministry of Health, demography and housing and the minister of Health of Abkhazia. It will demonstrate how NGO’s and authorities can cooperate on sustainable solutions for sanitation problems in a crisis situation. The case will be used for motivating and lobbying the authorities to invest more in Ecological safe sanitation. Thereby the health of 1000 people will be improved.

A partnership between NGO’s, the government and the local communities will be developed. It can function as a demonstration of this kind of partnership, and at the same time of a sustainable technology. Awareness will be raised on national, regional and local level about ecological sanitation and health.
The refugee community will be empowered to get active. Other projects might follow from this first incentive

Sustainability is ensured as the Georgian authorities will fund 40% of the project, and by the local organisation contributing to labour. Trainings for staff, patients and the local population will ensure the acceptance and scaling up. The refugee community will also participate in each phase of the project.