Women economically empowered through sanitation projects in Mozambique

Women in the district of Guijá in Gaza province are saying goodbye to open defecation, following the training in ceramic techniques for the construction of enhanced, sustainable latrines that can withstand extreme weather events.

Incorporated within the 'Sanitation Marketing' project, this intervention addresses two concurrent challenges: The first pertains to the practice of open defecation, which has posed a threat to the health of the communities. The second refers to the empowering of women with technical skills for entrepreneurship in a field traditionally dominated by men, the construction industry.

The initiative is led by World Vision-Mozambique (WV-Moz) as part of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) technical program.

Repsino Tivane, the Technical Coordinator for the Guijá and Mabalane districts, emphasizes that "this initiative represents a stride towards changing habits detrimental to public health," specifically addressing the absence of proper hygiene practices due to open defecation.

Furthermore, the technician asserts that involving women in this project is a valuable addition, as it "will secure economic independence for this group.

Within the WASH sector, WV-Moz has been supporting the Government of Mozambique in constructing and refurbishing water supply systems in the Guijá and Mabalane districts.