Assessment Report

WASH Situation in Ubari Municipality,

Southern Libya

July 2016

2

Introduction

During June and July 2016 the Danish Refugee Council conducted a water, sanitation and hygiene

(WASH) assessment in Ubari, Libya. The process was funded by UNICEF with the aim of gaining an

insight into the current WASH needs in South Libya. The Danish Refugee Council is working through a

Libyan partner organisation STACO, who facilitated the data collection within the city. The following

survey will provide the overview of the situation and subsequent recommendations for current and

future WASH interventions. While the current target group for intervention is internally displaced

persons (IDPs) living in Ubari, the assessment was conducted in such a way that wider health and

WASH trends could be assessed to inform other interventions. The results should be relevant to

humanitarian actors as well as local authorities, as the overall situation of the state of the network is

cross-referenced with specific areas of evaluation, in the form of household surveys.

Contents:

1. Methodology and sampling 5

2. Water supply 5

3. Sanitation 7

4. Hygiene 8

5. Solid waste management 9

6. Schools and places of work 10

7. The cost of WASH 10

8. Conclusions and recommendations 11

Annexes:

Annex 1: Demographics from household survey

Annex 2: Institutional level WASH information

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Executive summary: This report is based on multiple assessments (Focus Groups, household surveys

and Key Informant Interviews), to give an overview of the WASH needs in Ubari and inform Danish

Refugee Council interventions, through their partner STACO.

Ubari overview: A large city in South Libya Ubari was the source of fighting in 2014 as conflicts in the

region broke out. At present there are no IDPs living in Ubari, because Ubari was the source of a lot of

conflict, in 2014, and IDPs left the city rather than arrived there. The conflict damaged large swathes

of the city, thus the challenge is rebuilding and allowing a safe return for the returnees as they return

to the town. In addition, Ubari has been selected by the UNDP stabilization facility to receive a

significant investment in infrastructure. However, informal information has given DRC the impression

that WASH will not form part of this investment. The scale of the network in the town and competing

priorities of power generation and health facilities have taken precedent. The map below shows the

IDP sites in the town. The red points are the proposed areas for the DRC intervention.

Recommendations

Institutional level: Ubari is a large urban network which is under strain, due to the crisis in

Libya, funding cuts, irregular power supply and a general drain on resources have meant the

WASH needs of the city are unmet. The local authorities admit there are; constant network

breakages (both sewage and water), too few desludging trucks and a lack of funding for

network upgrades.

Schools: These fall under another authority, but evidence suggests few have functional water

of sanitation facilities. Generally, educational levels and hygiene knowledge is high, although

more can be done to increase knowledge and practice.

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Water supply: Water is not treated or tested for quality by the local authority. There are

multiple complaints about the storage facilities (private tanks) being broken. Most people

drink water from the tap, which is untreated, but in spite of this there are no major public

health outbreaks.

Sanitation: A diverse but overstrained network, there is a mixture of desludging and waste-

water networks. Most latrines are not functional, it is assumed they are either full or broken,

although breakages are often attributed to the network, rather than the individual household

toilet.

Hygiene: Level of knowledge is high and practice is also observed in several sections in the

report. The main area of concern is around knowledge of critical handwashing times which is

low. However, anecdotal evidence would suggest this is more of a learning for the

methodology of the survey than a major concern in need of targeting. The key dilemma with

hygiene comes in the form of the liquidity crisis/ deteriorating economic situation. A lack of

access to cash and increasing inflation has resulted in many people deprioritizing the purchase

of hygiene items. In terms of policy it is therefore recommended that both NFIs and cash be

trialed, but PDMs are yet to discern which is the more appropriate intervention.

Key findings

Ninety-seven percent of respondents reported drinking water from household taps.

Eighty percent of respondents store drinking water in jerry cans or private water tanks.

Eighty-three percent of respondents reported having a flushing toilet. However, 89% reported

that their toilet is not functional.

Observations show the presence of soap and water for handwashing at 72% of toilets.

Eighty-nine, percent of respondents placed the reason for not purchasing hygiene items as'

they are not my priority now'.

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1: Methodology and sampling

The assessment comprised gender segregated focus group discussions as well as a key informant

interview (KII) with the local water authority, and a household survey to gain an overview of the

conditions and requirements for WASH provision in Ubari.

Focus group discussions: Two gender segregated focus group discussions were held.

Key informant interview water association: A key informant interview was held with a members of the

local water authority Mohammed Hamouzi in Ubari, in order to ascertain an overview of the local

municipality water system and key challenges they currently face.

Household survey: Thirty household surveys were conducted with families living in Ubari. Annex 1

shows the breakdown of the beneficiaries by gender and other household composition information.

The below photos are to give an impression of the type of settlement targeted by the intervention.

They were taken during the assessment.

2 Water supply

The Ubari water system is a combination of water trucking and an urban pumped network. The water

is not treated at source, although the authorities say this happens if there is a complaint about the

smell or color. There are many leaks and breakages across the system, coupled with frequent power

outages, which interrupt water supply. This situation is further exacerbated by the shortage of fuel

which is an impediment to water trucking and desludging. At the household level the main concern is

the broken and unclean water tanks. Overall only one third of people responded in the household

survey that the supply of water was sufficient for their needs.

Drinking water: Taps in houses are the primary source of drinking water for the beneficiaries surveyed

in Ubari (see graph 1). As a consequence of this, there is no difference between the main source of

drinking water and water used for other domestic purposes, e.g. cooking, cleaning and washing.

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Water quality: With regards to water quality just under one third of the beneficiaries surveyed said

the water they drink is 'dirty' (see graph 2). There could be several explanations for this, such as leaks

and breakages in the system or the fact that water is not treated. However, it is not thought that there

is a major public health outbreak in Ubari, given the lack of reports from health actors or through

information obtained in the household survey or focus group discussions. As such the water quality

can be seen as an area of concern but not one which is currently having a drastic impact on the

population.

Water Storage: The focus group discussions for both men and women mention the need for more

water storage. The data from the household surveys shows that most families store water in private

tanks. There are anecdotal reports of many tanks being broken and in a poor state of repair.

0

28

0 1 0 00

5

10

15

20

25

30

Bottledwater

Tap inhouse

Tap within500m

Tapfurther

than500m

Watertrucking

Other

Graph 1: Drinking water source

0

5

10

15

20

25

Cloudy Smelly Dirty None of the above

Graph 2: Describe the water you drink

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3 Sanitation

Ubari has a large urban sanitation system, which is covered by a number of different approaches.

These approaches are outlined below:

Underground sewage network: (in 12 areas out of 25 areas).

Septic tanks private: (in 12 out of 25 areas).

Septic tanks communal: (in one out of 25 areas-Alghirat).

However, the local authorities state there are many problems with the system; the network is largely

broken, many desludging trucks are broken or suffer from high fuel costs. The underground network

is broken in many places with sewage spilling out onto the streets.

The household surveys found most beneficiaries have a flushing toilet (see graph 4 overleaf). However,

the surveys also revealed that 89% of toilets were in some sense broken. The reasons for breakage

can be multiple, from a full septic tank, to a broken toilet itself, to the whole sewage network in the

street being broken. There was only one report of a toilet being modified to suit a disabled or elderly

person’s needs, as such there are protection and dignity concerns for some of the population.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Bottled waterfrom shop

Plastic jerry canor bucket

Private watertank (forone/your

house)

Communalwater tank(group ofhouses)

None of theabove

Graph 3: How do you store water?

Drinking water None drinking water

An example of a tank damaged due to

fighting in Ubari

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With regards to septic tanks the focus group discussions indicate that many are full due to the

prohibitive cost of the service and its lack of reliability. The household survey shows that the cost

appears to be around 25LYD.

4 Hygiene

There are no reports of major waterborne disease outbreak yet in Ubari, however, that is no cause for

complacency. The spillage of sewage in the streets coupled with the lack of hygiene items purchased

by poor families is a large risk for the city. With regards to personal hygiene, the majority of

beneficiaries surveyed shower in buckets (see graph 5).

In terms of attitudes and practice there are some interesting results. Graph 6 shows that a high

number of toilets have soap and water for handwashing, as well as a majority of toilets being clean,

with the vast majority with no visible excreta. As a consequence, it is possible to see a positive

attitude towards hygiene with a clear level of knowledge. In contrast though, when asked about

'critical handwashing times’, only 22% of respondents answered that they knew. Anecdotally and

Flushing toilet83%

Shared flushing toilet

3%

Squat latrine14%

Shared squat latrine

0%

Graph 4: Type of toilet

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Shower in thehouse

Shared shower Shower using abucket

Shared bucket Other

Graph 5: Where do you wash

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through the focus group discussions it is seen that personal hygiene is often taken for granted in

Libya. Most responses with regards to hygiene normally involve people talking about solid waste

management or broken sanitation systems. It could therefore, be inferred that the low level of

reporting on handwashing knowledge, is more to do with a lack of understanding of the question

than a major cause for concern. However, this is not to say handwashing will not be promoted as a

response to this survey, more that the results need to be placed in a wider cultural context.

5 Solid waste management

There are multiple reports of rubbish in the streets and vectors (vermin), being attracted by this.

Beneficiaries request bins and other resources to help combat this, however, it falls under the local

authorities and would not be recommended for a short term WASH intervention, as it is a persistent

problem throughout the country.

The household surveys showed that 100% of respondents reported they disposed of rubbish

themselves. In addition, observations (see graph 7) showed that solid waste management was a

challenge, because waste was visible and there were few bins to dispose of it.

05

101520253035

Graph 6: Observations of toilets

No

Yes

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6 WASH in Schools: It is acknowledged that there are poor WASH facilities in schools. Few have toilets

or access to clean water. The household survey showed that only eight of the respondents said their

children had access to a working toilet at school. The local authority provided a list of those schools

(and other institutions) in need of intervention.

1. Algurdabiya school (Ubari farming project) 2. Annajim Attaqib in Jarma 3. Primary school in Twewa area 4. Addissa health center 5. Twewa health center

7 Cost of WASH services in Ubari: Households suffer from the high cost of emptying septic tanks. In

addition, the cost of hygiene items at a time when there is a severe liquidity crisis is a potential risk.

There are many families who have a good knowledge and would like to practice good hygiene, but do

not have the funds to do so. Having said that it is interesting that 'it is not my priority now' is the main

reason as to why hygiene items are not purchased (see graph 8).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Rubbish left on theground in communal

areas within 50m

Bin in house A community bin

Graph 7: Observations on solid waste management

No

Yes

10%

89%

0% 1% 0%

Graph 8: Reasons for none purchase of hygiene items

Cannot afford it

Not my priority now

I do not know what it is

Not available in themarket

Other

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8: Conclusions and Recommendations

Based on the available data, the following recommendations have been drawn up. These are broad

ranging in relation to WASH programming in Ubari. For the DRC project funded by UNICEF a separate

management response will be submitted with an updated work plan and list of proposed

interventions.

Any longer term WASH intervention will need to consider working with the local authorities,

for two reasons, a) there is an existing network which is in place and run by the water

authorities, b) access to vulnerable sites may need to be granted by other local

administrations.

While there is no reported public health outbreak the repeated reports of broken network

and the presence of key vectors (around poor solid waste management), as well as a lack of

priority for hygiene items within the household, shows that an intervention on all levels is

required.

Surveillance for diseases, water quality, network breaks and school hygiene facilities, would

be recommended. Creating reporting mechanisms for the local authority, whilst assessing

their capacity to respond to these issues will be critical.

The main issue is one of an overstretched underfunded urban network. As a consequence, the

best intervention would be aiding the local authorities to achieve the goal of keeping a system

operational.

Solid waste management is a large problem, which like the water and sewage networks needs

a large-scale solution in an urban environment.

WASH in schools, working with the school and water authorities would be recommended for

a longer-term intervention. This can be achieved at a low level, but as most schools do not

have functional toilets or water points, larger scale projects might be required to either join

them up to the network or to gain permission for the installation of drop latrines, as long as

desludging can be guaranteed.

The Danish Refugee Council extends thanks to all those involved in contributing to this survey.

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Annex 1: Demographics

In total there were 219 individuals in the 30 targeted households, making an average family size of 7.

The age breakdown is shown in graph 1. The gender breakdown is shown in graph 2 and is 47% male

and 53% female. In total 16% of families reported having a member who was physically disabled. Most

of the interviewed households regarded themselves as returnees on the forms. Ubari was the source

of much fighting and thus the main vulnerable group are returnees who have come back since the

situation stabilised but had their houses damaged by the fighting.

Graph 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

#Men >60years

#Women>60 years

#Men 18-59years

# Women18-59 years

#Boys

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Annex 2: Institutional level, Ubari

Ubari overview: A large city in South Libya Ubari was the source of fighting in 2014 as conflicts in the

region broke out. At present there are no IDPs living in Ubari, because Ubari was the source of a lot of

conflict, in 2014, and IDPs left the city rather than arrived there. The conflict damaged large swathes

of the city, thus the challenge is rebuilding and allowing a safe return for the returnees as they return

to the town. In addition, Ubari has been selected by the UNDP stabilization facility to receive a

significant investment in infrastructure. However, informal information has given DRC the impression

that WASH will not form part of this investment. The scale of the network in the town and competing

priorities of power generation and health facilities have taken precedent. The map below shows the

IDP sites in the town. The red points are the proposed areas for the DRC intervention.

Institutional level: Ubari is a large urban network which is under strain, due to the crisis in Libya,

funding cuts, irregular power supply and a general drain on resources have meant the WASH

needs of the city are unmet. The local authorities admit there are; constant network breakages

(both sewage and water), too few desludging trucks and a lack of funding for network upgrades.

The water supply system is a pumped network from a series of boreholes although there are reports

from the local authorities that a number of key boreholes are broken. In addition, there is water

trucking to some parts of the city. The water is not treated unless it is showing a bad color or is

complained about. The water is also not treated as standard practice, but again as it is from very deep

boreholes (which are tested at construction) it is assumed this is not a major problem.

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The local water authority states that many people add onto the network in a haphazard way which

also makes their job more difficult. Often breakages are due to poor quality work at small distribution

junctions.

Ubari has a large urban sanitation system, which is covered by a number of different approaches.

These approaches are outlined below:

Underground sewage network: (in 12 areas out of 25 areas).

Septic tanks private: (in 12 out of 25 areas).

Septic tanks communal: (in one out of 25 areas-Alghirat).

However, the local authorities state there are many problems with the system; the network is largely

broken, many desludging trucks are broken or suffer from high fuel costs. The underground network

is broken in many places with sewage spilling out onto the streets.

WASH in Schools: Reports are that the WASH facilities in schools are in need of serious renovation.

There are few functional toilets and little clean water provided to children on a daily basis.