CARE KENYA
LIVELIHOOD SECTOR
WASH PROGRAM PROFILE
Introduction
The livelihoods sector is currently one of the CARE Kenya’s country programme sector that
focuses on empowering the vulnerable rural communities to enhance their livelihoods through
use of various multipronged approaches among them integrated water, sanitation and hygiene
(WASH). The sector has consolidated experiences and has documented best practices
particularly with regards to resilience to drought related risks/disasters and school WASH
making CARE Kenya as one of the key agencies co-chairing the national level platforms on the
school WASH with UNICEF and other line ministries.
1. Millenniam Water Alliance Program in Kenya - KALDRR
Background
Kenya Arid Lands Disaster Risk Reduction – WASH program is being implemented under the
millennium water alliance (MWA) consortium. Funded by USAID, the KALDRR-WASH activities
are implemented by four partners under the umbrella of millennium water alliance. The four
partners are CARE, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Food for the hungry (FHK) and World Vision
(WVK). The Dutch partners who form part of MWA consortium are co-funding the program to
address program sustainability through the integration of learning initiatives on multiple uses of
water (MUS), water recharge, retention and reuse (3-R), life cycle cost approach (LCCA) and
field level digitalized monitoring. The MWA KALDRR-WASH program collectively targets to
reach 160,000 beneficiaries in five counties of Garissa, Wajir, Isiolo, Marsabit and Turkana of
Northern Kenya.
CARE’s KALDRR-WASH activities are implemented in three counties of Garissa, Wajir and
Marsabit but in specific sub counties of Lagdera, Balambala and Garissa Central (Garissa), Wajir
North (Wajir) and Moyale (Marsabit). CARE, by the end of the program in November 2014
targets to reach 42,300 people in those sub counties. The program focus is to improve access to
water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and build resilience to climate change. The program was
designed in the context of assisting the national government, counties and communities to
increase resilience to drought and flash floods while simultaneously increasing access to
improved WASH services. The program objectives are clustered into three outcomes
summarized as (1) improving water supply storage and increasing resilience, (2) improving
WASH conditions in Aphia+ health & nutrition facilities and (3) linking these two outcomes with
the neighboring communities largely through behavior change and capacity building activities
Program goal and strategic objectives
The Kenya Arid Lands Disaster Risk Reduction – WASH Program goal is to increase resilience to
drought and flash floods while simultaneously increasing access to improved water supply and
sanitation services and improving hygiene behaviours for poor and vulnerable populations in
the arid counties of Turkana, Marsabit (including Moyale Sub-county), Garissa, Isiolo and Wajir.
Strategic Objectives
1. Increase water storage capacity in arid lands, through improving natural and artificial
storage;
2. Improve WASH conditions at health facilities and nutrition centers frequently used during
emergency response;
3. Improve (a) access to safe drinking water sources, improve (b) access to and usage of point
of use water treatment products, (c) promote good hygiene behaviors and the use of
sanitation facilities as a means of reducing diarrheal diseases in areas with recurrent
emergency levels of malnutrition and around areas of improved storage
The program activities include water supply infrastructure development, capacity building of
Water users associations and water committees on management as well as accountability,
integration of community managed disaster risk reduction approach, addressing WASH gaps in
Aphia+ health facilities and behavior change interventions at community level targeting
sanitation and hygiene promotion.
2. SWASH+ Phase 2: Increasing accountability in school WASH.
Current Programming
The School Water Sanitation and Hygiene plus (SWASH+) project aims to improve the
sustainability and effectiveness of school water, sanitation and hygiene at scale in order to
support the National School Health Policy. The project is supporting decision makers to access
high quality data, evidence and learning in order to improve resource allocation, prioritization
and governance of school WASH. Leadership and coordination is provided by the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) towards
implementation of the following:


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Revamping the Education Management Information System (EMIS) through a school based
mobile data transmission platform
Producing evidence through field trials on incentives for improved governance in schools,
private sector model of service delivery in informal settlements and Life Cycle Cost of
school WASH
Generating learning from various trials through Policy Briefs and outreaches to decision
makers and decision organs

Promoting the Sustainability Charter on Comprehensive School Health program and
training TAC tutors
This is the second phase of SWASH+ project (2012 -2016) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation (BMGF).
Program Archives
School Water Sanitation and Hygiene plus Community Impact (SWASH+) phase I (2006 to 2012)
was an action research and advocacy project focusing on increasing the scale, impact and
sustainability of school water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Kenya. The goal
of the project was to identify, develop, and test innovative approaches to school-based water,
sanitation and hygiene in Nyanza Province, Kenya. The partners of the SWASH+ I consortium
were CARE, Emory University’s Centre for Global Safe Water, the Great Lakes University of
Kisumu and the Government of Kenya. The objectives then were to identify, develop and test
innovative approaches to school and community based water, sanitation and hygiene
interventions that promote sustainability and scalability; provide and test an integrated WASH
program in school that maximizes impact, equity, sustainability and cost effectiveness and;
positively influence Kenyan government investment in school WASH by leveraging learning on
sustainable, scalable and effective approaches. The project conducted a series of rigorous
quantitative studies in 185 schools where the project was implemented as well as qualitative
studies on a number of topics. The first phase was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.
Information Documents
Attached please find baseline and evaluation reports. For more information reference can be
made to SWASH+ website: www.swashplus.org
Freeman 2011
Results from a
Sustaining school
School Absenteeism Paper.pdf
School WASH Service hand
Delivery
washing
Trial SWASH+
and waterJune
treatment
2012 (6).pdf
lessons learned and to be learned 2
3. Nyanza Healthy Water (SWS)
Introduction
CARE International in Kenya and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have partnered over the last seven
years to support pre-positioning of P&G Purifier of Water. This has added to CARE’s service
delivery capabilities and provided innovative solutions to point of use water treatment. The
project is valuable and life-changing, so that children and families can lead healthier and more
productive lives. Safe Water System (SWS) is an inexpensive method of providing safe water at
point of use through treatment, safe storage and behavior change.
Project Goal: Sustainable improvement in the quality of life of vulnerable women, children and
pupils living in the Western Kenya region.
Broad Objective: Reduce waterborne-related illnesses among women, children and People
Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) that result from the consumption of contaminated water.
Strategic Objectives
 Increase partners’ knowledge of safe drinking water using SWS/P&G purifier of water
and hygiene promotion.
 Improve access to safe drinking water and hygiene infrastructure in schools and health
facilities.
 Enhance linkages at the community level to boost the adoption of safe drinking water.
 Assess uptake and measure intervention’s impact.
Key Findings
SWS and hygiene in schools evaluated by CARE and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in 2006,
2007 and 2009, revealed significantly increased household adoption of water treatment and
proper hand washing techniques and decreased absentee rates among students.
SWS and hygiene in clinics studies demonstrated health workers are effective change agents.
They serve as role models and are well-trusted, which means their messages are valued by the
communities.
Progress Status: Jan 2012 to June 2013
1. Conducted stakeholders targeting meeting to identify 20 schools and ECD centres.
2. Procured and distributed 4,778,090 sachets of P&G purifier of water supplies for
schools, ECD centres and clinics.
3. Completed stakeholders’ dissemination workshop on previous evaluation.
4. Completed rapid assessment of 53 health facilities and 20 schools.
5. Trained 24 Health Workers, 7 Education Officials, 80 teachers and 632 Community
Health Workers on Safe Water System and hygiene.
6. Conducted Annual review meetings with Community Health Workers (CHW) and
Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW) in 53 Community Units
7. Hosted CARE Celebrity Ambassador – Venus Williams and other VIPs to project sites.
8. Participated in emergency response work during January & April 2013 floods in Western
Kenya.
9. Hosted 3 local media stations (KBC, NTV & K24) during the March 22, 2013 World Water
Day.
Target Beneficiaries
Through the proposed third phase of Safe Drinking Water for Vulnerable Communities project,
CARE and P&G will improve the health of 14,000 children in 40 primary schools, as well as their
adjoining ECD centers. This will indirectly reach or support 7,000 households within the schools’
catchment areas, for a total population of 35,000 community members. Under the health
facilities component through the PMTCT and MCH/FP clinics, the project team will target 8,950
women of reproductive age who visit PMTCT delivery sites both at the health facilities and in
community settings. The intervention will aim to reduce diarrhea-related illnesses among
infants and children under 5 and; therefore, enhance their survival and development.
Similarly, the intervention will enhance the care and support for PLWHA by reducing the
incidence of opportunistic infections as well as contribute to safe infant feeding practices for
HIV-exposed infants. CARE will target 900 PLWHA through their support group settings in the 20
new project clinics, which are key outlets to promote safe drinking water messages, conduct
demonstrations and distribute supplies for use at home. Indirect beneficiaries will include 4,500
community members residing in households with health facility clients.