Dubai Cares launches health programme in Madagascar

DUBAI, 6th March, 2018 (WAM) -- Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has partnered with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, WSUP, to improve access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, WASH, facilities in schools in two of Madagascar’s largest cities, Antananarivo and Mahajanga. The three-year programme, which represents an investment of AED3,846,160 million, US$1,047,001, will benefit 14,250 children and 33,750 community members. The new programme aims to construct and rehabilitate WASH facilities in school and health centres to ensure availability of services in 30 schools, including 21 primary and 9 secondary schools. The facilities will meet the minimum quality requirements set by the Ministry of Education in Madagascar. The programme also aims to ensure that these facilities are run and maintained under a financially sustainable management model by facilitating the establishment of a School WASH Committee in each school. The initiative will provide, in collaboration with the mandated health authorities, hygiene education in schools, communities and health centres, to contribute to sustainable behavioral change. It will also support the schools to go through the various stages required to be officially certified by the Ministry of Education as a ‘WASH friendly school’. It also aims to provide capacity building to local institutions, and to influence policy at the local and national government levels to enable long term systemic change. Through the move, Dubai Cares aims to work closely with its partners at community, municipal and national level to ensure an effective rollout. Speaking on the announcement, Abdulla Ahmed Al Shehhi, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Cares, said, "Our new programme will be implemented in Antananarivo and Mahajanga, where the consequences of poor WASH infrastructure have been devastating for families. Diarrheal as well as cholera diseases are the leading causes of death of children under five, and adequate access to WASH facilities can prevent a significant proportion of such diseases. The long-lasting benefits of our latest WASH programme will not only provide much-needed WASH facilities across schools, but will also educate communities on how they can enhance their standards of hygiene to prevent illnesses." The programme will include a comprehensive operational research component, designed specifically to build the evidence base to support increased and more effective government investment in WASH programmes. The research will rely on identifying implementation and capacity bottlenecks from community all the way up to national level, including outcome evaluation focused on attendance rates and community outreach impacts. Sylvie Ramanantsoa, Country Programme Manager at WSUP Madagascar, said, "Inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools and local communities can make children too ill to attend classes, or encourage them to drop out of school altogether. This new partnership with Dubai Cares will help WSUP to improve health and educational outcomes for children, by improving facilities and practices in schools and communities, supporting policy change and conducting research to identify best practices."