National WASH Coalition
Although the Uzbekistan WASH Coalition is a small group, it includes representatives from many different organizations working on water, sanitation, health and environment issues: scientific agencies, government ministries, medical doctors, international agencies, NGOs, community organizations, schools, youth organizations and the media. The National Coordinator for Uzbekistan was appointed in 2004.
Focus
The coalition sees its priorities as:
- being responsible for the quality of information materials;
- promoting and raising water and sanitation related issues on the public level, especially for schools;
- developing partnerships between different stakeholders.
Milestones and achievements
In 2009, the coalition undertook a project called The WASH Campaign in the Aral Sea disaster region of Uzbekistan. The campaign targeted around 1,000 school children and included activities such as:
- training 30 teachers from four schools on water and sanitation;
- updating, printing and disseminating training materials;
- an educational campaign involving the 30 teachers and also parents, reaching 600 students and 100 parents;
- the celebration of public events such as World Water Day and Global Handwashing Day
Activities during 2008 included:
- several workshops and public events on sanitation and hygiene for rural communities, students and youth, and at the Medical University in Karakalpakstan;
- working on capacity development of the coalition members on WASH and the development of an intervention strategy;
- representing Uzbekistan during the regional WASH meeting in Bishkek.
Previous activities have included:
- building the capacity of community groups on water, hygiene and sanitation through training of community representatives;
- involving mass media in addressing WASH problems;
- developing a trainers’ manual and different educational materials in the local language.
