Water for Women - Papua New Guinea
Implementing inclusive WASH for the people of Wewak, Papua New Guinea
Water for Women partners with WaterAid in delivering Inclusive WASH for Wewak, in the East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea.
Context
Papua New Guinea is the largest and most populous Pacific Island nation, with a total population of over 8 million. Papua New Guinea also presents geographical challenges with a large majority of the population living in rural areas, some of which are extremely remote and difficult to access.
Approximately 85% of the population live in rural areas, where the main sources of drinking water are rainwater tanks, shallow hand-dug wells, springs, creeks and rivers.
Only 37% of the population have access to at least a basic drinking water supply.
Only 19% of the population has access to at least a basic level of sanitation, which includes the use of septic tanks and pit toilets.
48% of the rural population are still relying on surface water.
There is a widespread practice of open defecation.
Gender inequality is a major development challenge in PNG, with a range of traditional and cultural factors preventing women from realising their rights and sharing equally in the benefits of development. Further, while progress on addressing disability inclusion has been made, stigma against people with disabilities remains a significant barrier to universal WASH access. Physical barriers also remain an issue, with WASH infrastructure in communities not being fully accessible.
Gender equality, social inclusion and reliable, sustainable WASH infrastructure are key priorities of Water for Women.
“We know how important strong local systems are to delivering and sustaining WASH services. This funding will allow us to work with local government to strengthen the WASH sector, bringing inclusive and sustainable WASH to the people of Wewak District.”
- Mark Wolfsbauer, Program Director, WaterAid Papua New Guinea
Aim
Water for Women will be partnering with WaterAid to deliver Inclusive WASH for Wewak.
The project aims to benefit thousands of people in the Wewak District of East Sepik Province in PNG. Wewak District is located within the northern ranges region of the north coast of PNG and is one of six districts within the East Sepik Province. Inclusive WASH for Wewak District supports improvements in government-led service delivery.
Improving gender equality outcomes through WASH requires a gender mainstreaming approach, to support women’s participation, leadership and voice in decision-making, as well as shifting deep-seated gender norms and attitudinal change among men, male duty-bearers and local leaders.
Outcomes
The Inclusive WASH for Wewak District program will use an adaptive planning approach to explore strategies that will ensure:
- More inclusive, equitable and sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH) services.
- The empowerment of women and people with disabilities (PWD) through support for the creation of, and effective participation in, decision-making forums associated with WASH service delivery.
- Collaboration with partners to take a district-wide approach to the planning and provision of WASH services, working with both rural and urban service providers.
The project builds a foundation for WASH service provision, leveraging WaterAid’s expertise with sector strengthening to improve WASH coordination and to promote data-driven, equitable planning and financing of WASH services.
The project is working towards four key outcomes:
Outcome 1: WASH services in Wewak District are improved over time and services are sustainable, gender-sensitive and socially inclusive.
Outcome 2: District WASH sector systems are strengthened and there is a sustained commitment to adequate resources for WASH services.
Outcome 3: Empowered women are leaders in the sector and people with disabilities have a greater voice in decision-making.
Outcome 4: The uptake and use of scalable, effective strategies for increasing inclusive, district-wide access to WASH by government and non-government agencies.
Innovation & Impact in Papua New Guinea
Water for Women is partnering with WaterAid to deliver Inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene for the people of Wewak in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project aims to contribute to better WASH outcomes for Wewak by improving government-led service delivery and supporting women’s participation, leadership, and voice in decision-making for WASH.
In 2021, this project was awarded an Innovation and Impact grant to further strengthen the use of new evidence, innovation and practice in sustainable and inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and, in doing so, contribute to improved learning and practice globally.
The Australian aid program is investing in Papua New Guinea over a five-year period to achieve these outcomes. Water for Women is proud to be partnering with WaterAid and a number of local partners in delivering Inclusive WASH for Wewak.
Other local partners include: East Sepik Council of Women, East Sepik Disabled Persons Organisation, Assembly for Disabled Persons, National Research Institute, Christian Health Services, District Health Authority, Ward Development Committees
Project targets are based on partner Civil Society Organisations (CSO) baseline studies. Project targets are updated periodically in response to changes in context as appropriate. To see our latest progress towards targets, see our progress.
Photo: WaterAid / Tom Greenwood
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