Initiative for the Maintenance and Adaptation of Sanitation Facilities in the Shelter Camp for Persons with Disabilities in Deir al-Balah
The Community Change Agents team, under the PART project implemented by MA’AN Development Center in partnership with GIZ, completed a community initiative to repair and adapt sanitation facilities in the shelter camp for persons with disabilities in Deir Al-Balah. This came as a response to urgent needs that emerged during the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The initiative aimed to improve the living and health conditions of 475 displaced people in the camp, including 30 persons with physical, visual, hearing, and intellectual disabilities. The work included repairing a sanitary unit with three bathrooms by renewing internal pipelines and installing toilets, sinks, taps, and showers. Another unit with two bathrooms was adapted to meet the needs of people with physical disabilities, through installing secure iron doors, adjusting internal fittings, and building a ramp for easier access.
These efforts came after requests from the camp’s management committee and the protection team working on site, in light of the difficult health conditions faced by the displaced. The lack of proper sanitation facilities had forced some persons with disabilities to walk long distances to use the bathrooms at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which added to their suffering and increased the risk of skin and infectious diseases
