Goal: To ensure children have better access to safe drinking water, child friendly toilets, and are able to do daily hygiene activities like hand-washing to prevent the spread of diseases.

Summary/Activities: One of the most powerful storms in recorded history, “Super Typhoon” Haiyan cut through the Philippines in November 2013. A total of 16 million people were affected, with more than 6,300 people killed and 4.1 million displaced. Many water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities at household and school level were damaged or destroyed, and electricity supplies were disrupted, impacting the capacity of many water service providers to operate. Significant resources were invested in the emergency response and recovery efforts. Under the response plan, the use of solar pump water systems was introduced to schools without water supply and electricity. The programme aims to build resilient water systems by ensuring that school water supply would not be impacted by electricity cuts during/following storms and floods. Site specific designs were implemented, based on identified risks, such as building stronger foundations for water towers to ensure they could withstand the impact of a typhoon, installing water tower and pump head above the flood line, etc. Additional protective measures have been taken to raise the borehole head and pump above the seasonal flooding level. The pump is driven by solar panels installed on the roof of school building and water is pumped to the water tower, with gravity-fed distribution to classrooms and toilets. In the case of each school, the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) and community comes together to help install the system, whilst the local Government’s Water Department is assigned to take on any maintenance and repair work. The resilient ‘off-grid’ water system, ensures a safe and sustainable water supply that is safe from the impact of any power outages, particularly during periods of extreme weather.

More info: https://blogs.unicef.org/east-asia-pacific/haiyan-2-years-on-building-back-stronger/