Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Monitoring Program

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Monitoring Program or WaSH MP is a local initiative that is responsible for monitoring the enduring crisis in the water sector in the Palestinian territories (oPt).

In a region already suffering severe water stress, the ongoing political, economic and social crisis in the oPt has resulted in near catastrophic consequences for the water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) situation. Local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the water sector, in tandem with the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), are trying, under restrictive political conditions and within limited budgets, to ensure that all Palestinians are able to access sufficient water supplies and sanitation services.

The Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG), as the leading Palestinian NGO working in the water sector, has undertaken the responsibility for initiating the program. In June 2002 the WaSH MP was launched in response to the urgent need for increased information, resources and action related to the deteriorating WaSH situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The need for quantitative data to support ongoing advocacy and humanitarian initiatives by donors, international NGOs, and local NGOs working in the water sector in the oPt has been the main driving force behind the initiation and further development of the WaSH MP.

The main objective of the WaSH MP is to respond to the water crisis in the oPt by increasing local and international awareness of the WaSH situation while further encouraging mobilization around the emergency needs of the most vulnerable communities. Additionally, the hope is that this will help to stimulate political and environmental change through the use of timely and pertinent information (data) in order to help remedy the dire WaSH situation. These efforts are inline with achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) in relation to water and sanitation (UN MDG 7 – Target 10). As part of the WaSH MP, PHG has taken the responsibility for monitoring the extent to which Target 10 can be realized under these deteriorating conditions in the oPt, and for identifying the limitations in its achievement. In the process of identifying the main constraints facing the realization of this goal, and in addressing water issues and crises afflicted on Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, reliable water related data collection has become of paramount importance.

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