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15 September 2003 by Andy McElroy and Ilmira Gafiatullina in Dushanbe The plight of Tajikistan’s thirsty poor was placed firmly in the international spotlight last week when the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan told delegates at the International Fresh Water Forum in Dushanbe about the huge effort required to provide basic water supplies and improve sanitation for thousands of rural communities. Less than half of households in the former Soviet republic have an access to running water and almost a quarter depend on rivers, lake and ponds for their water supply. An already difficult situation has been made worse by civil war and a three year-long drought. Young people are among those most affected. A recent Red Crescent assessment, in cooperation with the International Federation and UNICEF, has revealed the extent of the crisis. A survey of 749 schools revealed that half did not have access to safe water and two out of three pupils are not aware of basic hygiene practices, such as washing hands before meals. “The situation in many rural areas of Tajikistan is critical,” said Douvron Mansurovich, vice president of the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan. Fidel Peña, the Federation’s water and sanitation delegate in Dushanbe, detailed the Federation’s approach to this crisis. “We are working with the Red Crescent to provide equipment that will improve supplies and increase awareness of communities to manage their resources, both equipment and water,” he said. This support is based on using low-cost technologies that can be effective in Tajikistan’s remote, mountainous regions. Health delegate Zaitun Munawar elaborated on the Federation’s integrated approach. “Our water and sanitation engineering work is in parallel with community based projects to improve knowledge of basic sanitation because diarrhoea and other related illness are a major problem.” “It is no use having safe water supplies without basic knowledge on how to protect yourself from disease,” she said. “We have found that one of the most effective ways to get important messages across is with children showing other children, as well as adults. When youngsters lead by example it is quite a powerful lead. We also want to strengthen the role of women in encouraging good hygiene behaviour as again they often can make a big difference.” Tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in the world with a majority of the population living in poverty. Average salaries are about US$10 a month. Water and sanitation is generally poor and is linked to high rates of preventable illness, such as dysentery. A host of governments as well as health and water experts attended the forum, which had four over-riding themes: interstate cooperation; health and sanitation; conservation and productivity in agriculture; and knowledge sharing. The minister of health in Tajikistan, Dr Nusratullo Faizulloev, outlined some of the major challenges in his speech to the conference. “Access to water is a fundamental right for all humans and everyone, including each person in each village, has to play their part. Pollution of water is present in all rivers and systems require maintenance and rehabilitation." The Red Crescent and Federation’s major role in the conference follows a visit by the president of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rakhmonov, to the Federation’s secretariat in June. Rakhmonov paid tribute to the work of the Red Cross Red Crescent in efforts to provide better water and sanitation in Tajikistan. The Tajik government was instrumental in having this year designated UN Fresh Water Year, having proposed it to the UN General Assembly. One of the key water and sanitation projects launched by the Tajik Red Crescent is in six villages in the Koktash region, only half of whose population of 23,000 has access to drinking water. The Red Crescent has provided them with building materials, pipes and spare parts for electrical pumps. Central to the scheme, though, is motivating the community and local authorities to search for water supply solutions by themselves. “We help people to take a first step towards better living conditions,” says Tajik Red Crescent President Dr Djura Inomzoda. “And we are happy to see that more and more communities are getting involved”. The Koktash water piping system rehabilitation project is one of the components of the Federation and Tajik Red Crescent water sanitation programme implemented throughout the country in addition to the drought relief operation. “Providing water to 57 villages in the north and south of the country, the Red Crescent engineers, together with the communities and their experts, consider every specific feature of a local landscape to keep the project costs down,” programme coordinator Elena Lyapina says. “In mountainous areas, for example, we help people to develop water springs, protect them from pollution and deliver clean water through pipeline down to valleys.” While communities and local authorities contributed with labour and machinery, the British Government, through the British Red Cross and the Federation country delegation in Tajikistan, funded the purchase of equipment, materials and training of village representatives on how to maintain hand pumps and operate other basic facilities with spare parts given. “In many villages, people are receiving clean water for the first time,” Inomzoda says. “It makes a great difference to their daily lives. We also hope that improved water supply will spare communities from outbreaks of water related diseases.” Related links: Tajikistan: appeals, updates and reports News story: Tajik President pays official visit to Federation Ensuring safe water and sanitation International Year of Fresh Water Make a donation |
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