As of early November, nearly 95% of the
damaged centralized water supply systems in urban Sichuan
have been repaired or reconstructed. In urban areas of earthquake-affected
Gansu and Shaanxi, nearly 99% of centralized water supply
systems have been recovered. However, in rural communities
and villages, nearly 50% of residents still do not have access
to clean water.
Access to safe and hygienic means of excreta
disposal, particularly in remote and mountainous areas, also
remains a problem. The need for improved hygiene is especially
great at the congested pre-fabricated settlements in which
millions of people still live, six months after the earthquake.
Social mobilization campaigns are needed to educate communities
and help them develop hygienic behaviour.
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Immediately following the earthquake, UNICEF
provided emergency water and sanitation supplies, including
bleaching powder, water purification tablets and units, mobile
toilets, and family hygiene kits. These supplies played a
critical role during the relief phase.
UNICEF has been working with Patriotic Health
Campaign Committee Offices to increase knowledge and build
capacity in earthquake-affected areas of Sichuan, Gansu, and
Shaanxi Provinces. As of early November, UNICEF has trained
over 5,000 sanitation and hygiene specialists and community
leaders, who have then gone on to promote hygiene at the grassroots
level. UNICEF’s hygiene and sanitation campaigns, including
the delivery of
thousands of Information, Education, and Communication materials,
are reaching both those areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake
and those affected by the later earthquake in Panzhihua.
In recent months, UNICEF has undertaken field
missions to assess post-earthquake conditions and work out
reconstruction plans for community water systems, handwashing
facilities, and latrines. UNICEF’s assistance in the reconstruction
phase is focusing on schools and villages in remote rural
areas in seven counties: Sichuan’s Qingchuan, Beichuan, Mianzhu,
Pengzhou, and Dujiangyan Counties; Gansu’s Xihe County; and
Shaanxi’s Lueyang County. UNICEF’s philosophy is that these
communities should not merely return to pre-earthquake conditions,
but rather, should be built back better than before the earthquake.
UNICEF has been working with counterparts
to draft blueprints and construction plans for community water
systems in 26 villages and townships, water-stands and handwashing
facilities in 31 schools, public latrines in 53 schools and
12 township hospitals, and model household latrines for families
in the earthquake-affected area. UNICEF is working with local
governments to share the cost of building materials and labour
and is also providing technical support. UNICEF is using the
participatory approach at all sites, working with local residents
to conduct all planning and construction. Construction is
currently underway at roughly 20% of the planned intervention
sites.
UNICEF is also working with provincial and
county-level water bureaus to build capacity, improve communication,
and enhance data and information exchange.
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In the coming months, UNICEF will continue
to work with counterparts to design and construct permanent
water supply systems, village drainage and solid waste disposal
systems, handwashing facilities, and sanitary latrines. UNICEF
will also work with communities to teach them how to maintain
and repair water and sanitation facilities.
UNICEF’s interventions will subsequently
be scaled up throughout the earthquake-affected area so that
communities can be built back better, with access to safe
water and improved hygiene. UNICEF will also continue to hold
training workshops at the county level to build the capacity
of local water bureaus.
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