This initiative will benefit communities in the West African Republic of Niger, the Horn of Africa, and the besieged Gaza Strip.

On the occasion of the United Nations’ World Water Day, the Qatari Red Crescent Society (QRCS) announced its plan to implement 14 water and sanitation projects this year.

The QRCS said the projects would involve the installation of water tanks and solar-powered pumps, the provision of water coolers at public places, and the deployment of tanker trucks to distribute drinking water to affected people in areas with scarce water resources.

At least 411,000 people across eight different countries will benefit from this initiative. This includes Yemen, Niger, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and the besieged Gaza Strip.

The latest findings by the United Nations’ Humanitarian Office (UN OCHA) report that just one out of the three pipelines from Israel supplying the enclave with fresh water is functional, but only 83% of its full capacity. Worse still, Gaza’s northern governorates are completely cut off from fresh water supplies.

Amid no let up in the violent occupier’s onslaught, 83% of Gaza’s groundwater wells are not working.

Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s WASH facilities

The UN OCHA also reports that approximately 57% of Gaza’s WASH facilities — water, sanitation, health care waste management, hygiene and environmental cleaning infrastructure — have been either damaged or destroyed.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Palestinian Water Authority published a joint press release on World Water Day, reporting that the average per capita water consumption in the Gaza Strip has dropped from 84.6 litres per day before October 7 to three to 15 litres per day due to the targeting of the enclave’s WASH facilities by the violent occupier.

On 21 March, UN Women highlighted the immense toll taken on the enclave’s women and children.

The report revealed that women are now compelled to shave their hair because they can’t keep it clean, as stated by Rana Khalil, a project coordinator for the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development.

“Because there is no water, they cannot take a shower. They cannot wash their hair. So, there is a lot of lice now. They are shaving their hair,” Khalil said.

For the QRCS, initiatives, such as the latest one announced, are of high importance during its disaster response operations.

The society’s efforts include ​​digging and rehabilitating water wells and irrigation canals to provide purified water and distribute personal and family hygiene materials to those most in need.