Water and sanitation for health and Ecuador development

IEOS will implement the project"s construction, hygiene education, operations and maintenance (O&M), appropriate technology, and training components. Although some activities will be conducted nationwide, emphasis will be on the provinces of Imbabura, Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Azuay, Tungurahua, Carchi, and El Oro. The project will work to institutionalize a decentralized construction planning and management process, called the "operational module" system, which was initiated by IEOS in 1987. With this system, IEOS delegates responsibility for construction planning and supervision to provincial-level staff, who then delegate responsibility for the promotion and construction of WS&S projects to "operational modules," i.e., teams comprised of a sanitary engineer, 3 promoters, and an administrative assistant. Some 640 rural systems, serving 320,000 persons, will be built. Community water boards will be formed, and communities will contribute 20% of WS&S costs. IEOS will also upgrade its project selection and budgeting processes, and develop formal operating and management policies and procedures. A social marketing hygiene education program will be conducted, using radio and TV, school programs, and community-level interpersonal communications. In support of the latter, IEOS will convert 35 WS&S promoters to hygiene education promoters, and will hire up to 70 additional community hygiene educators -- women, insofar as possible. Research on water and sanitation beliefs and practices will be conducted. Third, IEOS will establish central and provincial O&M Units to support the activities of community water boards, which will be responsible for preventive and emergency maintenance. These units will also assess communities" ability and willingness to pay for WS&S services. IEOS will establish an Appropriate Technology Studies Coordination Unit (UCETA) to conduct applied research to test the applicability of alternative WS&S technologies to Ecuadorean conditions. Studies have been proposed on WS&S design and construction; water quality and disinfection; and low-cost waste and sewage disposal systems. A cadre of national trainers will be developed to provide technical and managerial training to some 2,000 IEOS and 5,000 other (e.g., community water board) personnel. IEOS staff will generally be trained in week-long workshops, with 20-30 participants each; some will participate in U.S. or Latin American study tours. Action Memorandum of 12/23/93 extends PACD 1 year to 12/31/94 to permit consolidation and institutionalization of project achievements. The memorandum also adds (1) support for policy dialogue with the Government of Ecuador to identify priority areas for WS&S investment, and (2) a grant to CARE to extend latrine construction and basic sanitation education (begun under the Cholera Response Project -- 5180108) to 100% of the population in Babahoyo (Los Rios Province) and Bolivar (Carchi Province). (PD-ABJ-804)