The aim of this project is to raise awareness about environmental protection and risk based management of water supply and sanitation systems, and to take action particularly in the area of water quality and sanitation in rural communities

In the three project countries Romania, Albania and Macedonia, there is a big gap between rural and urban areas in terms of infrastructure and living conditions. In many rural areas, the water supply and sanitation system are not up to date and need to be improved. The priority of policy and decision makers should move towards the sector of water and sanitation but the local communities can also take action themselves to improve their situation.

WECF developed with partners a WSSP compendium with guidelines, background information and concrete advice how to develop and implement a Water and Sanitation Safety Plan in rural communities. The WSSP compendium has been translated into Romanian, Albanian and Macedonian and will be applied in the three countries.

The activities cover educational measures for small municipalities and schools and the reach out to a population of 36 000 in Macedonia and 32 000 in Albania. In Romania the activities will focus on the education of teachers through an accredited training programme by the school authorities and the development and implementation of a national guideline for small communities on risk-based drinking water management with the Ministry of Health. On national level, the project also includes round tables for relevant stakeholders on the project results as well as related topics such as water quality and risk assessment approaches.

Kickoff meeting was held in Skopje in late November, during which the training of the social media was held as a tool in the visibility and work of the civil society organizations. As a result of this project and the joint efforts of our partner organizations, this meeting gave an initiative to create an NGO network that will work in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene, which we have called the Balkan WaSH Network.

Partners in this project are:

In Romania

In Macedonia: Journalists for Human Rights

In Albania: Women in Development Shkodra

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety Germany.