Water Supply and Sanitation in Tajikistan

Tajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia, with 46.7% of the population living below the poverty line (World Bank, 2009 est.) of $2/person/day. Tajikistan is abundant in water resources with about 7,000m³ per capita per year of renewable fresh water compared to about 3,000m³ in Europe; however access to safe drinking water is one of the key development challenges. According to estimations 46% of the rural population does not have access to safe drinking water. About 70% of all infectious diseases are intestinal and most of them are waterborne and related to hygiene. Most rural toilets (latrines) are grossly unhygienic and contribute to infectious diseases. Access to environmentally safe and hygienically clean latrines in rural areas is evidently insufficient. Despite generalized accessibility to some sort ot latrine, the overall quality of sanitation facilities remain very low.

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for the sustainable provision of safe drinking water and sanitation in rural areas of Tajikistan.

The target beneficiaries of the project are 15.000 rural men, women and children who will benefit from increased access to water and sanitation Systems.

This project will encompass a holistic approach with a particular focus on the needs of women, identified with support from the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Gender.

Other direct beneficiaries include:

• 10 community-based WUAs, and their employees, which will act as Operators of the newly constructed and rehabilitated systems, funded by the project
• Over 40 Hukumats and other district level government officials and decision-makers, who will receive training and other capacity development support
• Other civil society organizations and CBOs, such as the Consumers Union of Tajikistan

• An enabling legislative framework and policy environment for the Investment, Operation and regulation of rural drinking water and sanitation Systems at national level is established
• Effective, transparent and streamlined processes and mechanisms are in place and implemented at the district level for the investment, operation and regulation of Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Systems
• Rural women, men and children have improved health and saved time
• Empowered women and men in rural communities act to increase, and safeguard, their access to safe drinking water and sanitation, thereby promoting gender equality

Results from previous phases:  

• 23,200 beneficiaries in the South (Muminabad and Rudaki) with proper access to safe drinking water
• 7 water Systems supplying drinking water to 11 villages and town in place
• 6 Water User Associations established and capacitated to operate and maintain water Systems
• 2 Water Trust Funds established in Rudaki and Muminabad
• Government buy-in to the principle of cost-sharing for capital Investment (15% from national government, 10% from district government, 5% from Operators)
• The adoption of a rights based approach to access to drinking water, realized by the passing of the Law on Drinking Water
• The production of influential policy briefs on key issues affecting the sector such as institutional structure, the tax code, water tariffs
• The appointment of an overall coordinator/regulator for the sector
• The implementation of a coordinated and decentralized mechanism for co-financing of district level activities

Phase 2 01.11.2013 - 30.06.2018   (Completed)