Chitipa district is still facing low adoption rate of safe water, sanitation and hygiene practices at individual, household and community level despite efforts from government and other stakeholders including TDI. By 2023, Chitipa was having 47% households with hand washing facilities, 79% households with basic latrine and 11% with improved toilet. Households with access to safe water is at 75% of which 30.8% take 30 minutes or more to collect water. The low adoption rate to sanitation and hygiene practices contributed to an outbreak of Cholera toward the end of 2022. The situation prompted TDI to request funding from Willow Creek Church to a tune of 20 million Kwacha to support Chitipa District Council in the promotion of hygiene and sanitation interventions in areas covered by Nthalire and Kameme Health Centers from January to June, 2023.
Project Outcome: Improved knowledge, attitude, behavior and practices on health and hygiene among communities in Nthalire and Kameme Health Centre catchment areas that will contributed to improved health.
Planned activities against achieved results
| S# | Planned activities | Achieved results |
| 1 | Orient 40 HSAs, AEHO and FC on project activities | 42 Health Surveillance Assistants trained on WASH key care practices |
| 2 | Orient 380 VHC members in Kameme, Mahowe and Nthalire | 332 Village health committee’ on WASH key care practices, stalk solution preparation and to identify and report broken boreholes, where TDI offered to do a free maintenance service as one way of serving the communities from water borne diseases. |
| 3 | Brief Village leaders (38), Zone Leadership team (30) and ADC(100) | 169 leaders oriented on WASH key care practices and challenged to reinforce by laws on sanitation and hygiene |
| 4 | Conduct briefing to PHEMC and DEC | 45 members of Preventive Health Emergency Management Committee briefed on project activities and enlisted their support to the project |
| 5 | Joint monitoring and supervision | Joined monitoring to assess project impact was done and the project registered success because the Cholera outbreak was halted. The district didn’t have any Cholera case in 2023 |
| 6 | Rehabilitation of broken boreholes | 80 broken boreholes were rehabilitated by TDI enabling 37,655 people from 12,570 households to have access to safe and clean water |
Project Successes
Following orientation of HSAs and health volunteers on key sanitation and hygiene practices, 76% reduction rate on diarrhea cases was registered in four villages from Kavukuku catchment area in Nthalire. From 21 cases before, to 5 cases after the lessons were delivered in the four villages of Vumo, Nakafita, Lukungu and Kavukuku. The HSA in collaboration with the Zonal Development Coordinator and volunteers mounted up awareness meetings in these communities after noting escalating diarrhea cases around the area.
Key Issues and lessons
- There is low adoption rate on sanitation and hygiene practices and it requires collaborated efforts on behavior change
- There is diminishing spirit of volunteering as seen in the demand for allowances by community volunteers. There is need for collaborated effort to make sure that key players in the WASH sector speak with one voice.
- There is need for duty bearers to reinforce community by-laws on sanitation and hygiene.