Improved WASH Facilities

The indicator assesses the number of targeted institutions (such as schools, health centres, evacuation sites, community centres, administration buildings) with improved water, sanitation or hygiene facilities as a result of the project’s support.

1) Use reviews of project documents, observation and interviews with key informants (e.g. project staff, representatives of the institutions, users of the supported WASH facilities) to assess how many of the targeted institutions the project supported with a (re)construction of at least TWO of the following types of facilities:

- Safe water sources, including tube well or borehole, protected shallow well, rainwater harvesting system, piped water/public tap or protected spring. Other types of water sources cannot be counted as “safe water sources”.

- Improved sanitation facilities, including pit latrine with slab, ventilated improved pit latrine, flush or pour toilet (connected to a sewer system or septic tank) or composting toilet. Other types of toilets cannot be counted as “improved sanitation facilities”.

- Hygiene facilities, including a handwashing station with reliable water supply and a designated place for soap. Handwashing facilities may be fixed or mobile and include a sink with tap water, buckets with taps, tippy-taps, and jugs or basins designated for handwashing.    Soap includes bar soap, liquid soap, detergent powder, and soapy water but does not include ash, soil, sand or other handwashing agents.

In order for an institution to be recognized as having “improved WASH facilities”, the facilities must be available to their intended users – for example, a latrine should not be counted if it is usually locked and people cannot use it. Similarly, a handwashing station that for an extended period of time does not have any water should not be counted as “improved WASH facility”.

To calculate the indicator’s value, count the total number of institutions with at least two types of WASH facilities (re)constructed as a result of the project’s support.

Disaggregate the data by the type of institutions and the type of (re)constructed facilities.

1) During the training of data collectors, ensure that they are able to correctly recognize the different types of water, sanitation and handwashing facilities (or at least recognize whether they can be counted as “safe water sources”, “improved sanitation facilities”, and as appropriate handwashing facilities. For example, just a 20-litre jerrycan, not adjusted in any way, should not count as a “handwashing facility”.

2) It is recommended that you report separately on the number of institutions with 1) improved sources of safe water; 2) improved sanitation facilities; and 3) improved handwashing facilities. However, do not add these numbers up, otherwise you run the risk of double counting (as it is likely that, for example, in one institution a project will support both an improved sanitation facility and improved handwashing facility.