Access to water sanitation and hygiene
Advancing equitable access to safe drinking water
The SDG-6 seeks to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030. The Lesotho Demographic Health Survey (LHDS) noted that, rural households in Lesotho rely on public taps (56%).
23% in rural areas get water from unimproved sources like wells and streams. 16% of the rural population get water from protected wells, borehole, or springs and only 5 % of the rural population have water piped into individual households.
Stand-alone VIP latrines built
Addressing sanitation and hygiene challenges in vulnerable communities
Adequate access to sanitation facilities and the ability to practice adequate hygiene are central to adequate housing, and also principal public health recommendation for infection prevention and control. Inaccessibility of these increases vulnerability in groups that are already vulnerable such as orphans, people living with HIV/AIDS, rural women and women headed households.
However, in Lesotho only 18% of the population wash their hands with soap and water. Access to WASH facilities is still a challenge in the country particularly in rural areas as most households do not have access to sanitation facilities.
Improving living conditions for citizens
Habitat for Humanity Lesotho recognises that access to sanitation facilities and hygiene as part of the housing ecosystem, is a key contributor to the SDGs, in particular, target 6.2 which is centred on achieving access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation. Special attention is paid to the needs of women and girls who are disproportionally impacted by lack of access including other vulnerable groups.
Under Vulnerable Group Housing programme, Habitat for Humanity Lesotho also expand availability of affordable sanitation and hygiene products to households living in poor conditions.