Despite considerable effort and investment, lack of access to clean drinking water continues to be a major issue in Tajikistan, particularly in rural areas. Many residents rely on rivers and open ditches for drinking water. Through USAID technical assistance, in May 2017 the Tajik parliament passed an amendment to a law on local government that increased the authority of municipalities in managing local revenue to address citizens’ needs, such as increasing access to safe drinking water.

USAID helps the local government deliver water services to its constituents, works with farmers to better manage irrigation water through water user associations, and teaches families how to improve sanitation and hygiene behavior to keep themselves healthy.

RESULTS:

• USAID has built or rehabilitated 76 water systems since 2009, giving more than 242,000 people access to safe drinking water.

• USAID trained 140 local government officials in 10 districts and 20 target municipalities in budget management and service delivery. To ensure sustainability, USAID installed software and e-manuals for on-the-job training for the local government employees.  

• USAID established 56 community-level water user associations, to improve community control, management, and investment in farm irrigation. Improved water availability has enabled farmers to double their income and has benefited over 200,000 people.

• USAID supported the Tajik weather and water forecasting agency to better predict the amount of water available for irrigation each year, enabling operators to release the right amount of water and reserve the rest for generating electricity.

• USAID-trained masons produced, sold, and installed a total of 2,078 ventilated improved pit latrines in households, improving sanitation conditions for an estimated 16,624 household members. 

• USAID supported the construction of ventilated improved pit latrines and handwashing stations at 114 rural primary healthcare centers, six in schools and one in the central district hospital, improving access to better sanitation for 3,000 school students and 288 faculty, as well as 177,840 patients and 342 health facility staff per year.

• USAID-trained volunteers provided water sanitation and hygiene messages to an estimated 318,348 community members.