Since the beginning of August, UNRWA has been rolling out a hygiene and water campaign in its shelters in Gaza. The campaign is designed to help displaced persons take responsibility for promoting clean shelters, in order to prevent a large scale outbreak of diseases, such as water-borne infections as well as lice and scabies. Dedicated young graduates were hired under the Agency’s Job Creation Programme and trained to work with the displaced to promote a healthy environment in the overcrowded schools. Over the course of the campaign, additional water and hygiene facilitators were hired from among the displaced persons in the shelters. Hygiene and water committees, comprising of at least two women, two men and four youth, including two girls and two boys, were established in the shelters.
Anas Naemat, a 27-years-old father of three, took refuge with his family in an UNRWA school after fleeing East Khan Younis in southern Gaza in July. His baby girl was born with a severe urinary tract defect, requiring constant diaper changing. Living under distressing circumstances in an overcrowded classroom serving as a shelter, Mr. Naemat said: "I have to ensure a clean and safe environment for my family. Through the UNRWA initiatives, we were encouraged to learn about the proper use of cleaning products and rationalization of water use. I started explaining these issues to the people with whom my family and I share the same classroom, instructing them not to leave any dirty dishes or garbage such as dirty diapers in the classrooms."
The hygiene and water campaign was rolled out amongst incredible challenges, including insufficient access to non-potable water during the first weeks of massive displacement, the high number of displaced persons in UNRWA shelters, and intermittent resumption of violence, which led to large scale fluctuations from, to and between shelters and impeded staff movement. The ongoing hygiene and water campaign is complemented by the deployment of dedicated medical staff who continue monitoring health issues, treating patients in the shelters or referring them if necessary, and improving access to medication for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and asthma.
In the same school that Anas and his family are sheltering in, the UNRWA al-Amal school in Khan Younis, committees are recycling solid waste. With the help of hygiene facilitators, displaced persons are encouraged to recycle empty shampoo bottles and water cans into household articles designed to make life in the overcrowded shelters a bit easier and more comfortable for all. Maysoon Saleh Abu Sabt is one of the displaced who calls the UNRWA school a temporary home. The 19-year-old said the UNRWA hygiene and water campaign taught her to recycle plastic. “We started using plastic bottles to make soap holders, kitchen funnels, cups and dustpans. Recycling helps to minimize the amounts of solid waste at the shelters and is very important in light of the dire conditions we live under, namely the blockade," she said.
Since the announcement of the ceasefire on 26 August, the situation of displaced persons has been very fluid. The UNRWA water and hygiene campaign had to form new committees in the consolidated shelters, as many displaced who were actively involved left. At the most recent count, there were 35 committees, with 290 members overall. Almost 70 awareness sessions were held among 2,859 displaced persons, focusing on cleanliness, the use of cleaning materials, best practices in water use, how to keep food from becoming contaminated, and how to treat lice and scabies and avoid other hygiene-related conditions. In just one day, on August 31, 201 persons were referred to medical focal points and 11,007 displaced people took part in cleaning campaigns.