150 Villages Declared open defecation free
The DAPP Child Aid projects builds on the idea that the people in a community should work together in a structured way to discuss and come up with solution to issues of mutual interest in particular those that involve the wellbeing and upbringing of the children. The aim is to create safe and conducive environment in which families can raise their children.
The projects are operating in Machinga, Zomba and Neno districts focusing on the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, agriculture as well as climate change.
In Machinga DAPP is working in four Traditional Authorities (T/A) of Nsanama, Mlomba, Nkula and Chamba while in Zomba the project is operating in T/A Nkagula. Currently, district’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene coordination team are carrying assessments to determine if the villages are not practicing Open Defecation.
The aim is to establish that people in the target villages are not practising open defecation so as to be qualified for and ODF status by the National ODF taskforce. During the verification phase carried out between 16 July to 25 August 2018, the district teams have declared 150 villages to be open defecation free.
The criteria used to declare a village open defecation free is that all households should have latrines with drop whole covers, hand washing facilities next to the latrine and without any traces of human faeces at any place within the villages.
There 48 villages from T/A Chamba, 40 from Nkula, 15 from Nsanama, 17 Mlomba and 30 from Nkagula which have all been declared open defecation free.
