Public Group on Water and Sanitation

Introduction

Solomon Islands is classified as a lesser developed nation and the 2014 Human Development Index (0.49) ranks the country as 157th out of 187 countries. 75% of the labour force is engaged in subsistence farming and fishing.

The Government formulated a 'National Development Strategy (NDS) 2011-2020 with priorities to create economic and livelihood opportunities for rural people, diversify sustainable productive sectors and institutional and infrastructure development. Aligned to the NDS objectives the EU will support in the WASH and Rural Development sector.(The full National Indicative Programme for Solomon Islands can be found here.)

Focus Sectors budget

Water

Overall objectives

The water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector will have as an overall objective to improve the living conditions of men, women and children through contributing to increased coverage for water and sanitation and improved hygiene behaviour in line with the Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Policy and the future Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Policy'.

Country Context

source: EU Honiara Office

Rural communities across the nine provinces face health problems caused by lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation, and through poor hygiene behaviour. Many communities spend inordinate amounts of time collecting water for basic living, while open defecation is common.

The estimated coverage of functioning water supply systems in the Solomon Islands is 35-40%. Only 18% of the households have proper sanitation facilities, and there is an even bigger challenge due to the lack of awareness of the importance of sanitation. Proper hygiene behaviour, in particular hand washing with soap, is rarely practiced in rural areas.

Specific objectives and the main expected results

SO1 - to enable a healthier and safer environment in households reducing the impact of water borne diseases and hygiene related illnesses in rural and urban communities

SO2 - to improve governance and quality of service delivery in the WASH sector in the context of climate change

For each of the specific objectives the main expected resultsare:

• R.1. Increased service delivery of sufficient quantity safe water and appropriate sanitation through the implementation of the WASH Policies for the rural and urban population
• R.2. Increased awareness of population on importance of hygiene and sanitation, and reduction of frequency in number of cases of diseases with oral – faecal transmission
• R.3. Implementation of WASH Policies with an initial focus on strengthening the institutional framework and enabling environment
• R.4. Improved planning, monitoring and evaluation of WASH service delivery including community service obligations.