Gender and Development

Uzbekistan

Loan 1903-UZB: Western Uzbekistan Rural Water Supply, 2002¹

Background:

Over the last three decades, the drying up of the Aral Sea has aggravated the water shortage problem in western Uzbekistan. Since mid-2000, Karakalpakstan and Khorezm have been suffering from the worst drought in 100 years. Many rural families have lost direct access to safe drinking water and their main source of income from agriculture. Women and children fetch drinking water from distant alternative sources which is often contaminated exposing the population to high risks of waterborne diseases and other illnesses. The Western Uzbekistan Rural Water Supply Project aims to alleviate human suffering from the drought and strengthen the institutional capacity to manage scarce water resources in a sustainable manner in the poorest part of the country.

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Objectives and Scope:

The goal of the Project is to improve the living and health conditions in the rural communities of Karakalpalstan and Khorezm. The Project will mitigate the ongoing effects of the drought by providing safe and easily accessible water supply, minimizing water wastage, and improving health conditions through the provision of sanitation facilities and encouraging better hygiene practices. The Project will also strengthen institutional capacity for potable water resource management to ensure Government's water supply program in the Aral Sea area is sustainable. The Project components are:

1. Potable Water Resource Management: With the development of new systems and rehabilitation and upgrading of existing facilities, the supply of potable water will expand in districts from a minimum of 12% to 85%, the unaccounted-for-water losses will be reduced from over 50% to 30%, supply efficiency of bulk water and service delivery will increase, and unit costs of production will be lowered.



2. Water Conservation and Health Improvement: Water conservation measures, will be introduced, sanitation facilities in schools and clinics will be improved, and water and sanitation related health awareness will be promoted.



3. Capacity Building: Support will be provided for project management and institutional strengthening on water supply management. The Project will include social measures to identify and mobilize community participation in subproject planning and implementation, monitoring of demand, and education on the value of water.

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Framework for GAD Activities:

Women are traditionally responsible for collecting and managing drinking water and health and hygiene in the home. Under the water shortage in western Uzbekistan, many women and their family members in rural communities have been in poor health due to anemia and water borne diseases. Despite their daily household responsibilities to manage water, they do not have access or control of water resources, they lack the capacity and skills to participate in water management and are hardly visible at the decision-making level in the water sector. The Project promises to relieve women of the burden of walking long distances and queuing for water collection and thus free their time for rest and other productive activities. The women will also benefit from education campaigns on protection of their children's health from water borne diseases. Moreover, there will be opportunities for women to participate in various aspects of project implementation, i.e. water conservation and public health awareness.

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Gender Inclusive Design:

While a Gender Action Plan (GAP) was not developed during the loan design, a detailed GAP was developed in the early implementation phase. The Uzbekistan GS assisted the WURWSP staff in the development of the following component wise GAP to ensure women participate in and directly benefit from the Project.

1. Potable Water Resource Management:
• Facilitate gender awareness among the Water Distribution Center (WDC) and Water User's Association (WUA) staff
• Identify locally acceptable ways to disseminate project information to women
• Ensure 50% women's participation in training groups by providing training at convenient locations to encourage female attendance
• Include ADB's GAD Policy and practical gender training modules in project training sessions
• Conduct gender training for WDC and WUA staff
• Identify Gender Focal Points in WDC and WUA
• Broaden women's participation at least up to 30% in the WDC and WUA activities with equal pay for equal work and at least one position of authority held by a woman
• Minimize difference in access to water between male and female participants
• Recruit full-time staff with expertise on social development and gender issues in the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (MEU)
• Prepare social/gender profile at project completion
• Report impacts on public health and living standards disaggregated by gender


2. Water Conservation and Health Improvement:
• Conduct gender training for the Rayon Agriculture and Water Department (RAWD)
• Ensure 30% women's participation in training and public health awareness campaigns


3. Capacity Building:
• Ensure women's NGOs' participation in training programs
• Develop gender sensitive monitoring indicators to measure women's participation in project activities (at least up to 30%)


4. Project Management:
• Promote a gender balanced project management team
• Identify a GAD Focal Point
• Conduct gender training for Project Management Office, Executing Agency and other main counterparts
• Ensure women's participation in Rayon Consultative Committee (RCC) and Project Steering Committee (PSC)
• Ensure women's equal access to all services provided by the Project, including business advice, extension services and training
• Evaluate Project's impact on poverty reduction

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Guidance on GAD Activities:

The Uzbekistan GS will continue to provide technical assistance to the Project staff in implementing and monitoring activities identified in the Project GAP.