Sanitation

With the continuing crisis in northern Syria, the infrastructure and sanitation facilities available for sewage disposal and treatment are insufficient to meet people's needs, causing groundwater pollution and increasingly threatening public health. The absence of a policy or institutional framework for treating or re-using this water, nor guidance on the most effective techniques in the current situation to confront the crisis and the optimal investment of these resources, in addition to the existence of gaps in data collection, monitoring and management, as well as in coordinating activities, and access to reliable data regarding the state of wastewater in northern Syria. 

The strategy of the platform in the wastewater sector aims to reduce the health impact of open sewage estuaries and to effectively invest in wastewater by increasing the collection and treatment of wastewater in the north of Syria and seek to reuse all wastewater in the treated interior areas for irrigation purposes, in addition to monitor water quality and support agencies working in this field from governmental and non-governmental organizations and local institutions through the central laboratory to assess the quality of wastewater in the city of Azaz in northern Syria. 

This strategy includes five basic initiatives: 

o Establishing a database by collecting data and information related to water treatment and reuse in northern Syria, and monitoring wastewater-borne diseases through teams of field researchers. 

o Enhancing the collection and reuse of wastewater in the fields of irrigation and livelihoods based on the successful experiences and projects in this field. 

o Supporting the actors working in this field with scientific and advisory expertise and participating in monitoring the quality of implementation of existing projects and conducting the necessary tests. 

o Highlighting the gaps and assessing the ability for wastewater treatment in the affected areas. 

o Supporting the implementation of sewage treatment facilities that suit the Syrian context. 

o Building the capabilities of workers in this field through technical trainings. 

o Support and advocacy with local communities aiming to encourage the use of treated water for irrigation instead of untreated water