Project Goal

To restore access to safe, gender-inclusive, and sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services for the most vulnerable earthquake-affected communities.

Project Background and Rationale

On March 28th, 2025, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck 16 km northwest of Sagaing city, Myanmar, followed by a 6.6 magnitude aftershock. Preliminary estimates suggest approximately 7 million people may be affected across Sagaing, Mandalay, Shwebo, Naypyitaw, Nyaung Shwe, and Meiktila. As of ten days post-earthquake, over 3,600 people have died, nearly 5,000 have been injured, and over 141 remain missing. Over 65,000 structures have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Over 17.2 million people are living in affected areas, with 9.1 million exposed to the strongest tremors. The earthquake has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, impacting 19.9 million people in Myanmar who required humanitarian assistance prior to the disaster, including 10 million women and girls.

The April 2025 Flash Addendum to the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) highlights the urgent need for WASH and Health assistance, with over 6 million people identified in need in the worst-affected areas. WASH assistance is required for over 4.3 million people, and Health assistance for over 2.4 million. The most impacted areas are Sagaing region, Mandalay region, and Southern Shan state. Damage to water infrastructure, sanitation facilities, and housing has heightened the risk of disease outbreaks, waterborne infections, and protection concerns, particularly for women, girls, and persons with disabilities. Myanmar’s State Administration Council (SAC) has declared a national emergency and requested international aid.

Therefore, this phase of the “Water for Life Project” will be expanded to cover “Emergency Assistance for Myanmar,” focusing on health-integrated and gender-sensitive WASH services in the most affected communities in Mandalay region.

Urgency

Overcrowded temporary shelters, damaged water systems, and collapsed sanitation facilities have significantly heightened the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks such as diarrhea, cholera, and skin infections. According to Shelter cluster reports, there are 102 displaced sites, with temporary shelters overwhelming existing WASH services. Women and girls are especially vulnerable due to the absence of gender-sensitive WASH facilities. Immediate intervention is critical to prevent public health emergencies, restore dignity, reduce psychosocial distress, and create safe environments for displaced families.

Problem to be Addressed: Earthquake-impacted communities in Mandalay regions are currently facing acute shortages of safe drinking water, functional sanitation, and hygiene awareness. Damaged or overwhelmed houses and community health centers compromise their ability to deliver safe care and infection prevention. In displacement camps, the absence of gender-segregated latrines and safe water provision exacerbates risks for women and girls, while unhygienic living conditions contribute to rapid disease spread. Affected populations are also largely uninformed about essential hygiene practices.

Underlying Causes: Limited community preparedness, insufficient public health education, and a lack of funding have left both households and local health facilities ill-equipped to manage WASH-related risks during emergencies.

Intended Impact: Contribute to restoring and strengthening safe, inclusive, and sustainable WASH access. By providing emergency water supply, installing gender-segregated latrines, promoting hygiene awareness through community-based campaigns, and upgrading WASH systems for earthquake-affected vulnerable communities, the intervention will contribute to reducing disease incidence, enhancing dignity and safety (especially for women and girls), and rebuilding the capacity of local communities to manage their own sanitation and health needs. Ultimately, the project seeks to lay the foundation for resilient, people-centered recovery through integrated, water-safe settlements.

Target Areas: A selected monastic education school in one of the earthquake-affected poor community areas of Mandalay region. This school serves as a critical social safety net, providing free education, shelter, and basic care for vulnerable children, many further impacted by the earthquake. The earthquake damaged surrounding water infrastructure and heightened the risk of waterborne diseases, making safe drinking water access an urgent need. The intervention will ensure safe water for schoolchildren and contribute to the health, dignity, and resilience of the wider vulnerable community.

Targeted Beneficiaries: Approximately 500 school children affected by the earthquake and nearby vulnerable communities. Targeted interventions will focus on earthquake-affected vulnerable communities in Mandalay region.

Project Components: The project will comprise three inter-related components: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and Health, aimed at enhancing the resilience and early recovery of earthquake-affected communities in Mandalay region.

• Provision of Safe Water Supply System for the school children impacted by the earthquake.
• Strengthening hygiene awareness and capacity of school communities.

Project Objectives:

• To ensure sustained access to safe drinking water and to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk reduction knowledge among school children and school communities in an earthquake-affected monastic education school in Mandalay.
• To promote critical hygiene practices and strengthen the capacity of affected communities through targeted hygiene promotion campaigns and training of school committees.
• To provide the earthquake-affected vulnerable communities with essential hygiene items, thereby reducing health risks and improving community resilience.

Project Activities:

1. Selection and Assessment:
   • Identify a monastic education school in an earthquake-affected area of Mandalay through coordination with local communities and education partners.
   • Conduct a rapid assessment to determine water needs, and current risk vulnerabilities.
2. System Design and Installation:
   • Organize participatory safe siting designing session with school committee members, schoolchildren, and community members to ensure public health, environmental protection, and community well-being and minimize potential risks.
   • Construction of a solar-powered drinking water supply system (with 500 liters/hour capacity), including filtration, storage tanks, and multiple tap stands.
   • Ensure child-friendly, inclusive access and secure shelter to protect the system.
3. Capacity Building and Community Involvement:
   • Form a school WASH committee including teachers, students, and community members for the maintenance of the system.
   • Train the committee on system maintenance, water safety, and hygiene education.
4. Hygiene Promotion and Safe Water Use:
   • Conduct interactive sessions with students and teachers on hygiene behaviors, handwashing and water safety.
   • Provide age-appropriate IEC materials, posters, and hygiene kits.
5. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Awareness Training:
   • Deliver a tailored training session on disaster preparedness, earthquake safety, and risk reduction to students, teachers, and the school communities.
   • Facilitate a school-based DRR awareness campaign with student participation (e.g., posters, school wall messages).

Implementation Strategies and Approach: UN-Habitat will adopt a community-centered and partnership-driven implementation strategy, grounded in the People’s Process approach, to deliver emergency WASH support to earthquake-affected vulnerable communities in Mandalay city. This approach emphasizes meaningful participation, empowerment, and ownership by local communities in the planning, implementation, and management of interventions, ensuring timely relief and long-term resilience and sustainability.

In the initial phase, UN-Habitat will collaborate closely with township-level administrators, village administrators, community-based organizations (CBOs), communities, and experts to conduct rapid needs assessments and participatory site selections. These assessments will identify the most urgent WASH needs and vulnerable households. Local authorities and frontline workers will facilitate the coordination and integration of WASH efforts with other sectoral responses such as health, protection, and shelter.

To ensure community ownership and accountability, UN-Habitat will formalize engagement through local groups, village committees, local CSOs, and relevant private sector. These agreements will outline shared roles, responsibilities, and timelines, and will serve as tools for transparency, conflict resolution, and joint decision-making. Community volunteers, including women and youth, will be actively involved in the planning, installation, and maintenance of water supply systems and latrines. These participatory actions will help foster stewardship, build local capacity, and ensure that WASH facilities are well-maintained and equitably accessed.

Throughout the intervention, UN-Habitat will ensure alignment with national WASH guidelines and coordination with the WHO, Myanmar WASH Cluster, Shelter Cluster, and Gender in Humanitarian Action Group (GiHA), leveraging joint resources, information-sharing platforms, and technical expertise.

Stakeholder Engagement: To ensure effective and inclusive implementation of proposed WASH and gender-focused activities, UN-Habitat will work closely with a diverse network of stakeholders including WHO, WASH cluster, Health cluster, Education cluster, Early Recovery Cluster, Myanmar Climate Action Network members, local communities, local NGOs, CSOs, and relevant private sector partners. These partnerships will enable the delivery of context-specific interventions, support community mobilization, and ensure that communities and women’s voices are represented in planning and implementation processes and foster ownership and sustainability of the project outcomes.

Project Duration: 3 months (from July 2025 to September 2025)

Donor: ATOM Myanmar