ActionAid Palestine and CESVI to Hold consultative Meetings to Lunch Project of “Protection, Water, Health and Hygiene for vulnerable population in area C”
Hebron-West Bank -ActionAid Palestine (AAP) and Italian organization, CESVI for Cooperation and Development held consultative meetings with the representatives of the municipality of Khelet Al-Maya including communities of Al Baqa’a, Al Bwaib and ArRifaiyya and communities of Umm Lasafa which includes Sh’ibSamour and Abu Shaban located in Hebron Governorate in the south of West Bank. These meetings aimed to exchange consultations needed for launching the joint project of “Protection, Water, Health and Hygienic Health for vulnerable population in Area C” that will be implemented by AAP and CESVI and funded by Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation. Those meetings also introduced the local partner communities to implementation mechanisms of the project and sought to engage different sectors of the local communities in the planning and implementation of the project to achieve its sustainability.
The project aims at improving access to safe water for families, communities, schools and community-based organizations (CBOs). It also aims to enhance interventions and response related to issues of health and sanitations. The project targeted the residents of those communities as they are the most exposed to violations of human rights and international law. The representatives of those communities welcomed the two organizations stressing the necessity of the project to their areas and its role in ensuring their access to best means needed for safe services and infrastructure of water, sanitation, health and hygienic health.
The mayor of Khelet Al-Maya,Majdi A’dra welcomed the representatives of the two organizations stressing the importance of the project and partnership with local and international organizations in developing the Palestinian community, strengthening its resilience and improving the performance of local municipalities in delivering their public services to Palestinian citizens. He pointed to the fact that the municipal council has intention to build partnership with international and local organizations to develop water and sanitation services provided to Palestinian citizens.
The head of the programs in AAP, Ms. Amani Mustafa highlighted the importance of this consultative meeting and project considering it as a continuity of AAP’s real partnership with representatives of these communities .Ms. Mustafa stressed the fact that the project will be necessarily needed to promote and ensure the access of marginalized groups to safe water so that the active contribution and main role of municipal bodies and CBOs could be achieved in strengthening and disseminating the health and correct practices of hygienic health and sanitation.
The acting manager of the project in Cesvi, Simoni Balboni presented a detailed explanation about the project.
The participants in the meeting discussed the next steps needed for strengthening and institutionalizing the real partnership between the two organizations and local community and supporting the sustainability of this relationship and mechanisms of project implementation.
The project will be implemented using different mechanisms including the improvement of infrastructure of water through the distribution of systems of water filtering, storing and systems of water maintenance for household use. The project will organize awareness activities and campaigns aiming to promote hygienic behavior and enhance knowledge of people about the correct practices of sanitation and hygienic health.
Background Information
ActionAid in Palestine (AAP) is a part of global federation working for social justice and gender equality and eradicate poverty in more than 46 countries around the world. AAP started its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian People as ActionAid believes that they should enjoy their rights to freedom, justice and self-determination. AAP implements a number of programs through its engagement with communities and women and youth groups seeking to empower them and enhance their influential civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective activism to address the protracted rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation of Palestine. AAP works simultaneously to enhance their leadership capacity and knowledge to practice their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers to account.
For more information, please contact
Riham Jafari
Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication in Palestine
Mobile:
+972 (0) 595242890
Office:
+972 (0) (2) 22 13 137
Email: