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In Cambodia, water and sanitation on a big screen

Countries
Cambodia
Sources
ACTED
Publication date
Origin
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Floods are a recurrent problem in Cambodia. Each year they cause destruction and bring waterborne diseases to the villages. The poorest households are especially prone to the problems caused by floods, with their very low access to safe drinking water sources and sanitation facilities. The problem also comes from the lack of good hygiene habits among the families.

After heavy flooding in Cambodia's Kandal province in 2011, ACTED-PSF performed two needs assessments and identified an urgent need to increase not only access to safe drinking water, but also to improve hygiene and sanitation behavior among the villagers. With funds from UNICEF, ACTED-PSF implemented a water, sanitation and hygiene program, working closely with local authorities and local populations to address their needs.

In order to make the education sessions more interesting, the actions performed during the program were filmed and turned into a short educational video, which was shown to the flood-prone villages at the end of the project. This training video is an innovative way to promote hygiene behaviours and to raise interest among villagers in the issues related to sanitation and safe-drinking water, combining education with entertainment. ACTED-PSF delivered hygiene and sanitation training to over 16,000 households, and distributed over 300 ceramic water filters to schools and health centers. ACTED-PSF teams have as well purified over 350 flood-contaminated wells in the villages and distributed water purification tablets to over 16,000 families.

Watch the video about ACTED hygiene and sanitation activities.