ALGERIA (Sahrawi refugees)

AREA OF EXPERTISE

Water, hygiene and sanitation

FUNDING

• Funding: ECHO (Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission)

This programme was financed by ECHO, the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office.
One of ECHO's mandates is to preserve the dignity of peoples affected by humanitarian crises.

In 1975-1976, the arrival of Saharawi populations in the region of Tindouf resulted in the creation of four main "camps" grouping most of the refugees.

Owing to the conditions of living in the camps, Triangle and ECHO identified hygiene as a top priority.

Many refugees, unable to cover the additional cost of buying sanitary towels and other body hygiene products, had returned to ancient systems such as using pieces of cloth that were washed after use.

This practice seemed to be causing skin and gynaecological infections in the camps. Indeed, according to health experts, a large number of such diseases were reported among women using traditional methods of hygiene.

During Triangle's evaluation, the women encountered expressed their need for hygiene products, particularly washing products, soap, sanitary towels, etc.

Specific aim of the operation:
participate in improving the conditions of hygiene of 33,000 Sahawari women, in age of puberty, currently in the Aoussert, El Aioun, Dakhla, Smara and "27 February" refugee camps.

Programme Stages:
- The Sahawari authorities were met in order to coordinate the various stages of the operation.

LOCAL CALL FOR TENDERS

• pecifications preparation
• Specs published in two Algerian daily newspapers
• Organisation of a commission in Triangle's Algiers office to select the suppliers
• Recruitment of 10 Sahawari labourers and one Algerian logistician, responsible for storage and packaging under the Project Manager's supervision.

Early in the project, Triangle's Project Manager and administrator visited each Daira to
meet the district representatives who would later carry out distribution with our teams.

Interviews were organised in the aim of:

• Presenting the programme to the beneficiaries' representatives
• Presenting samples of the products that would be supplied
• Organising distribution in partnership with the local people in charge

Note: each "camp" is called a wilaya and divides into dairas. One wilaya counts six or seven dairas, in turn divided into four districts.

Distribution was carried out in each daira inside a closed space. 4 Triangle teams were on site, each in charge of distribution for one district (4 districts per daira). Representatives from each district accompanied Triangle's team. Representatives of each daiara accompanied our respective teams.

This programme enabled the distribution of 33,000 hygiene kits.