Attachment-9_FATA_WES_Final_Report.doc

Improvement of Water and Environmental Sanitation targeting Communities and Girls’ Primary Schools in FATA

Cooperative Agreement # 391-A-00-05-01063-00

FINAL EPORT

Submitted to: USAID/Pakistan Submitted by: UNICEF Pakistan, 90 Margalla Road, F-8/2, Islamabad Date 30 May 2008

Contents

Executive Summary

Contribution Summary

Abbreviations

Background

2.

Project targets and objectives

3.

Project coordination and implementation arrangements 4.

Key strategies 7 5.

Achievements

6.

Sustainability

7.

Financial utilization

8.

Constraints

9.

Recommendations

Annexes

Executive Summary The USAID-funded project “Improvement of Water and Environmental Sanitation targeting Communities and Girls’ Primary Schools in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan” was implemented with UNICEF support in Khyber and Mohmand Agencies during 2006-2008. The project aimed to (i) enhance primary school enrolment and reduce drop out of girls through provision of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities, and (ii) contribute to the reduction of health problems in FATA through hygiene education and improved sanitary practices at village level. The key components of the project included provision of drinking water and sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion in 190 girls’ primary schools to benefit over 22,000 students, provision of community water supply systems in 90 villages to benefit 6000 households, capacity development and hygiene promotion.

The project was implemented by NGOs under the leadership of FATA Civil Secretariat. Despite the law and order situation, cultural taboos and poor communication network in the mountainous areas, the project has been able to achieve most of the stipulated targets. An overview of the key project achievements is as follows:

(i) Water and sanitation facilities have been provided/rehabilitated/improved in 190 schools;

(ii) Improved drinking water supply has been provided through installation of hand pumps in 90 villages benefiting more than 6,000 households;

(iii) 880 members of parent teachers associations have been trained on health and hygiene including 360 female school teachers who were trained on child to child approach to hygiene education;

(iv) 392 community volunteers including community members, religious scholars and elected representatives have been trained on interpersonal communication in support of rural sanitation;

(v) 63,000 households have been reached with appropriate hygiene and sanitation promotion messages (hand washing, use of safe water and construction and use of latrines); and

(vi) 186 water supply sources (including 134 school and 52 community sources) have been screened for bacterial and chemical quality. Out of these, 60 sources in schools and 29 in communities were found contaminated and subsequently chlorinated.

The total USAID contribution for the project was US$ 400,000 out of which the programmable amount was US$ 357,160. In addition, UNICEF also contributed about US$ 44,000 which was used for procurement of various supplies including hand pump, motorized pumps and pipes.

Contribution Summary UNICEF Progress Report No:

Assisted Country:

Pakistan

Assisted Programme/Projects

Water, Environment and Sanitation (WES)/ Improvement of Water and Environmental Sanitation Targeting Communities and Girls’ Primary Schools in FATA

Donor Reference:

USAID/ 391-A-00-05-01063-00

PBA No:

SC/2005/0520-1

PBA Programmable Amount:

US$ 357,160

Funds used to date:

US$ 357,160 (100%)

Balance of funds:

Nil Duration of Contribution:

September 2005 to March 2008 Date prepared:

30th April 2008 Abbreviations

BEST

Basic Employable Skill Training

BHU

Basic Health Unit

CLTS

Community Led Total Sanitation

CtC

Child to Child

FATA

Federally Administered Tribal Areas

HRDS

Human Resource Development Society

IEC

Information, Education, Communication

IPC

Interpersonal Communication

IPC

Inter-personal Communication LHWs

Lady Health Workers

PTA

Parent Teacher Association

SSHE

School Sanitation and Hygiene Education

1. BackGround Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan is located in a narrow belt which runs along north-western border of Pakistan with Afghanistan. Covering an area of 27,220 square kilometers, FATA comprises seven Agencies (Bajur, Mohamand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan and South Waziristan) and six Frontier Regions (Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki, Tank and Dera Ismael Khan). The population of FATA is around 3.2 million people, mostly living in rural areas. According to 1998 Census, overall male and female literacy rate in FATA is 29% and 3%, respectively.

The access to improved drinking water and adequate sanitation in FATA is estimated at 43% and 10%, respectively. About 37% of primary schools in FATA have access to drinking water while 44% have access to a toilet facility . Lack of water and sanitation facilities in schools is considered to be one of the key contributing factors for low enrolment and high drop out of children from schools, especially girls. Poor access to safe drinking water, lack of adequate sanitation facilities and poor hygiene also remain major threats to survival of the children in FATA.

2. Project Targets and Objectives:

The USAID-funded project “Improvement of Water and Environmental Sanitation targeting Communities and Girls’ Primary Schools in Federally Administered Tribal Areas” was implemented with UNICEF support in Khyber and Mohmand Agencies of FATA. The project aimed to (i) enhance primary school enrolment and reduce drop out of girls through provision of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities, and (ii) contribute to the reduction of health problems in FATA through hygiene education and improved sanitary practices at village level. The main objectives and targets of the project, as stipulated in the Project Cooperative Agreement with USAID, are as follows:

1. 190 schools would have been provided with drinking water and sanitation facilities directly benefiting over twenty two thousand students, the majority of whom are girls.

2. 90 villages would have been provided with community water supply systems benefiting around six thousand households or over forty thousand individuals.

3. 20 villages would have been declared free of open defecation.

4. 600 PTA members (400 community members and 200 schools teachers) would have been trained as trainers on hygiene education and improved sanitation.

5. 600 community volunteers (activists) would have been trained and equipped to carry out interpersonal communication (IPC) in support of rural sanitation acceleration.

6. Hygiene and sanitation promotion messages would directly benefit some 60,000 households, or 420,000 people.

As proposed by USAID, an additional target “testing of 180 water systems (190 schools and 90 communities) for bacterial contamination and chlorination depending upon the quality of water” was included under the project during 2007:

3. Project Coordination and implementation arrangements The implementation of the project was led by the Directorate of Local Government and Rural Development, Civil Secretariat FATA in close coordination with the FATA Directorate of Education. The Human Resource Development Society (HRDS) was the implementing partner during July 2006 – August 2007. Following a review in August 2007, a new implementing partner i.e. Basic Education and Employable Skill Training (BEST) was selected in consultation with USAID and the Government in order to expedite the work.

4. Key Strategies

The key strategies pursued for implementation of the project are as follows:

Government’s ownership: To enhance the sustainability and potential for scaling-up, the implementation of the project was led by the respective government agencies (Local Government and Education Directorates) at the FATA Secretariat level as well as at the Agency level. The Annual Work Plans for the project were developed jointly with the Government and approved by Secretary, Planning and Development, Civil Secretariat, FATA.

· Community participation and cost sharing: Community participation/cost sharing was the key component of the project. The local communities and elders (Maliks) were closely involved in assessing the need, planning, implementation and monitoring of the project. Communities also contributed up to 20% of the cost of latrine construction (in terms of cash or kind) and up to 100% of cost of installation of hand pumps. The process of community mobilization involved orientation meetings with and briefings for community elders, parent teacher association members, Agency Education Officers and Assistant Directors of Local Government at the Agency level; active involvement of local leadership and community at all stages of the project and decision making process; and capacity building.

· Gender mainstreaming: To reduce the gender gap and contribute to women’s empowerment in the long-term, the project focused on girls’ schools, training of female teachers and community activists and active involvement of women in all phases of the projects.

· Service Delivery: Given the low water and sanitation coverage in schools and communities, the project also focused on the provision of hardware especially low cost water and sanitation technologies including hand pumps, low-cost gravity schemes and pour flush latrines.

· Capacity development: The project contributed to capacity development of teachers, parent teacher councils and communities as well as government. Training of community members and school caretakers so as to ensure sustainable use of the facilities was also a key component of the project.

· Communication and social mobilization: The project used various communication approaches including social mobilization meetings with various target groups, child to child approach, Community Led Total Sanitation in order to ensure community involvement, contribution, ownership and bring about changes in behaviors and attitudes.

5. ACHIEVEMENTS

The achievements of the project against each of the stipulated targets (Section 2 above) are as follows:

(i) Provision of drinking water and sanitation facilities in 190 schools:

Water and sanitation facilities have been provided/rehabilitated/improved in 190 schools, 102 in Khyber Agency and 88 in Mohmand Agency against the same target. This includes installation of water points (hand pumps, motorized pumps or connection from the existing source depending upon the feasibility), rehabilitation of existing latrines, construction of new latrines and construction of hand washing facilities. These facilities are directly benefiting 18,940 female students. The list of the targeted schools in Khyber and Mohmand Agencies along with the corresponding number of beneficiary students are attached as Annex-1 and 2, respectively.

A motorized pump installed at Government Girls Primary School (GGPS) Mehraban Shah located in Tehsil Ghallanai, Mohmand Agency (number of beneficiaries = 84 female students). A hand pump installed at GGPS Elam Kore, Tehsil Pandali in Mohmand Agency (number of beneficiaries = 68 students)

Inside view of a latrine constructed at GGPS Wazir Dand No. 1,Tehsil Jamrud, Khyber Agency (school enrolment = 200). A hand washing facility constructed at GGPS Soor Kamar No. 1, Tehsl Jamrud, Khyber Agency (school enrolment = 114).

(ii) Provision of community water supply systems to 90 villages:

Drinking water supply has been provided through installation of hand pumps in 90 villages (47 in Khyber Agency and 43 in Mohmand Agency). This has ensured availability of improved water supply to more than 6,000 households who were earlier depending upon open wells or unsafe sources of water for drinking. Annexes 3 and 4 provide the details of the targeted villages along with the corresponding number of beneficiaries in Khyber and Mohmand, respectively.

L-R: Hand pumps installed at Yousaf Thalab Anwar, Teshil Bara and Maveez Killi, Bakara, Teshil Jamrud in Khyber Agency. The hand pumps provide improved drinking water supply to 300 persons and 250 persons, respectively.

(iii) Declaration of 20 villages as open defecation free

The concept of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach which, compared with the traditional approach of providing subsidy for construction of latrines, emphasises on elimination of open defecation through demand creation for sanitation facilities as a result of intensive hygiene promotion campaigns, was promoted in 20 villages (list attached as Annex 5). In this context, teachers, community volunteers and members of parent teachers associations were trained on hygiene promotion and sanitation acceleration while mass awareness campaigns were also undertaken (Sections 5-iv, v and vi). Three villages having a population of 1450 were declared open defecation free (see Annex-5). Law and order situation, however, proved to be major obstacle in promotion of CLTS and hence realization of this targets.

(iv) Training of 600 members of parent teachers associations including 200 female teachers on hygiene education and improved sanitation:

In order to promote healthier behaviour in schools as well as communities a total 880 members of the existing parent teachers associations (PTAs) were trained on health and hygiene. These included 360 female school teachers (248 in Khyber and 112 in Mohmand) who were trained on child to child approach to hygiene education. In addition, 520 male members (192 in Mohmand and 382 in Khyber) of parent teachers association were trained on health and hygiene against the target of 400.

A view of teacher training sessions in Khyber and Mohmand Agencies

Training of members of parent teachers’ associations/school caretakers on health and hygiene in Mohmand Agency.

(v) Training of 600 community volunteers on interpersonal communication in support of rural sanitation:

392 community volunteers (351 in Khyber and 41 in Mohmand Agency) including community members, religious scholars and elected representatives have been trained on interpersonal communication in support of rural sanitation. Due to difficulties faced in organizing community gatherings owing to security concerns, additional members of parent teachers associations were trained instead of community volunteers (Sub-section-iv above)

A view of community volunteer training in Khyber Agency

(vi) Dissemination of hygiene and sanitation promotion messages among 60,000 houses, or 420,000 people:

63,000 households (about 500,000 people) have been reached with appropriate hygiene and sanitation promotion messages (hand washing, use of safe water and construction and use of latrines) in Khyber and Mohmand Agencies through interpersonal communication, distribution of hygiene promotion material and broadcasting of hygiene messages through the local radio channel, and sensitization workshops for elected representatives, religious scholars and other partners.

A view of hygiene education sessions at GGPS Yar Afzal in Tehsil Jamrud, Khyber Agency. 443 girls students benefited from these sessions.

(vii) Testing of 280 water systems (190 schools and 90 communities) for bacterial contamination and chlorination depending upon the quality of water:

186 water supply sources (including 134 school and 52 community sources) were screened for bacterial and chemical quality. Out of these, 60 sources in schools and 29 in communities were found contaminated and were subsequently chlorinated. Detailed results of water quality tests for each of the water sources are given in Annex 6.

L-R: Water sample is being collected from a community hand pump. The water sample is being analysed for water quality parameters using DelAqua testing kit.

6. SUSTAINABILITY

In order to ensure the sustainability of the project, line government agencies, local leadership and communities were involved at all stages of the project. Moreover, PTCs and communities were trained on operation and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, respectively. Agreements were also signed with the communities whereby they undertook to take care of operation and maintenance of the facilities provided under the project.

7. Financial utilization

The total USAID contribution for the project was US$ 400,000 out of which the programmable amount was US$ 357,160. All the USAID contribution has been utilized as per details given in Annex-7. In addition, UNICEF also contributed about US$ 44,000 which was used for procurement of various supplies including hand pump, motorized pumps and pipes.

8.

Constraints

Following were the major constraints faced in implementation of the project:

(i) Deteriorating law and order situation which has made many parts of the target Agencies inaccessible. The situation worsened during early 2008 when there were several incidences of kidnapping of NGO staff and implementation of project activities put the NGO staff under high risk of security. It also affected the monitoring of project interventions by UNICEF as well as the line government agencies;

(ii) Delay in delivery of supplies;

(iii) Male-dominated conservative society where women are generally not allowed to participate in the project interventions and where the working environment for NGOs, especially female social organizers, is not conducive;

(iv) Scattered settlements in the mountainous terrain with poor communication system which makes accessibility as well as transportation of construction material and supplies difficult;

(v) Interference of Maliks (local elders) in the project activities. It is normally not possible to intervene in a school without getting concurrence and cooperation of the concerned Malik, who by virtue of having donated land for the schools, is also the defacto school owner;

(vi) Lack of cooperation by the communities due to strong anti-NGO lobby; and

(vii) Depletion of the ground water resulting in drying up of existing water sources e.g. dug wells and hand pump-based schemes.

The key strategies followed to address the above mentioned constraints included:

(i) Project staff, having familiarity with local culture and values was engaged by the NGO. Several staff members employed by the NGO were locals and had strong contacts with local leadership and communities. These staff members took the local leadership into confidence before initiation of work in schools and communities;

(ii) Low-profile was maintained by the NGO staff in the wake of growing security concerns;

(iii) Strong logistic support provided to NGO greatly facilitated execution of the works in the scattered areas. Engaging the local hardware vendors for supply of construction material also helped expedite the pace of work in remote areas; and

(iv) Concerned government agencies were actively involved in the monitoring of the project interventions as the target areas remained inaccessible for UN staff for almost for over a year due to security concerns.

9. Recommendations

The project has achieved the stipulated targets and brought significant improvement in the quality of life of school children and communities despite the difficult terrain and law and order situation. Water and sanitation coverage in schools and communities in FATA, however, remains extremely poor. In many areas of FATA, women have to walk long distances, up to 2 km in some instances, for fetching water. Given the low coverage of water supply and sanitation, which is one of the contributing factors to high infant mortality rates (87 deaths per 1,000 live births) and low female literacy rates (3%) , there is a strong need to further expand water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in FATA.

Increased security concerns, however, are likely to cause considerable delays in implementation of future projects and this factor needs to be given due consideration at project design stage. Given the fact that many of the target areas may not be accessible due to security concerns, especially for UN and donor staff, proper mechanism for monitoring of project interventions in FATA also need to be devised in collaboration with the counterparts and partners. Initial environmental assessment of the future projects is also recommended so as to minimize the potential negative environmental impacts and contribute to improvement of the environment.

Annexes Annex 1. List of Schools provided with WES facilities in Khyber Agency Annex 2. List of Schools provided with WES facilities in Mohmand Agency Annex 3. List of villages provided with water facility in Khyber Agency

Annex 4. List of villages provided with water facility in Mohmand Agency

Annex 5. List of villages wherein CLTS related interventions were undertaken

Annex 6. Water Quality Testing in schools and communities

Annex 7. Details of budget utilization (2006-07 & 2008) � Government of Pakistan (2005), Mid-term Development Framework (Chapter 16), Planning Commission, Islamabad

� Government of Pakistan (2006), Pakistan Education Census-2005-06, Ministry of Education, Islamabad.

� Government of Pakistan (2006), FATA Sustainable Development Plan, Civil Secretariat FATA, Peshawar

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