What is WatSan Cell
WatSan Cell is a coordination hub, for all partners working in Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene (WASH) sector, to ensure better utilization of all the possible resources, and to avoid duplication of efforts. It was established in 2009 with an objective to develop the capacity of elected representatives, Government Officials, and, community members to
manage water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion services in an effective way. It also supports line departments in development of Policies, Strategies and Action Plans
related WASH. . The Cell has recently developed guidelines for declaration, verification
and certification of open defecation free villages/ neighborhood councils in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, and on sanitation up scaling for Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs),
and training manual for verification committees for project on sanitation up scaling.
WatSan Cell achieved another milestone by launching “Toilet Finder App” which is the
first ever toilet finder mobile app in Pakistan aiming to ease masses in helping find the nearby Toilets.
History of WatSan cell
Local Government and Rural Development Department (LG&RDD) with the support of
UNICEF established Water and Sanitation (WatSan) Cell on March 2, 2009 at a time
when Pakistan in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular was having the most
challenging time in term of mass scale IDPs. The Cell is institutionally housed in the
Local Council Board (LCB) for close coordination with the municipalities and other
partners in the province. The Cell was given the goal to enhance the responsiveness of
LG&RDD to coordinate emergency response and service delivery including WASH in
various ways like developing strategies an action plans, facilitating implementation,
capacity building and knowledge management, monitoring and reporting.
Working Area of WatSan Cell
The Cell, in close collaboration with partners, is performing the following activities.
- Information management.
- Monitoring and Evaluation.
- Coordination.
- Advocacy.
