Pivoting Hygiene and Water Activities to Respond to COVID-19 in the DRC

Central to the pandemic response is ensuring adequate water and sanitation services, and improved hygiene practices to reduce disease transmission. The USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)-funded Budikadidi Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and led by Catholic Relief Services, has pivoted water management and governance, Care Groups, mass media, and community outreach and education activities to address immediate shocks caused by COVID-19 pandemic. This learning note shares some of the adaptations, early results, lessons learned, and challenges experienced by the Budikadidi project as they adapted programming to meet WASH needs that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.