Urban sanitation projects in Jacmel

We have recently launched a 3 year urban sanitation projects in Jacmel, southern Haiti financed by the European Commission. The purpose of this project is to reduce by half the percentage of the population with out access to drinking water and basic sanitation.

Improving Haitians’ access to drinking water, helping them adopt hygiene practices such as washing their hands regularly and raising awareness of proper sanitation have been among our top health priorities.

This work became even more urgent as cholera quickly spread through contaminated water and poor hygiene. Through repairs, new infrastructure and community awareness campaigns, we have made clean water available in vulnerable places such as Carrefour, Delmas, Martissant, Jacmel, Maissade and parts of Port-au-Prince. In Maissade, residents felt so strongly about improving hygiene and sanitation that within 90 days of Save the Children opening a model latrine block, they had built over 1,100 more latrines.

We have also strengthened our partner, the Direction Nationale Eau Potable et Assainissement, (DINEPA), a government water and sanitation agency in charge of the metropolitan Port-au-Prince region, by training over 100 staff in safe drinking water practices. We built water kiosks in Port-au-Prince together, installed water filters at 13 schools and renovated DINEPA’s water testing lab in Jacmel.

"Among all the NGOs we worked with, Save the Children is the most valuable partner because of its way of keeping its commitments to vulnerable communities in matters of drinking water and sanitation,” said Paul Lydbenson Theodate of the DINEPA. “We value the dedication Save the Children has shown the institution and we hope to continue this collaboration.”