To increase access to safe water and sanitation and to promote hygiene awareness in rural communities, from which Nestl source cocoa, to improve the lives of vulnerable communities.

For Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, Nestl markets and RCRC National Societies agreed on a list of rural, cocoa growing communities. Once identified, the IFRC and the RCRC National Society follow procedures for implementation of WASH projects under the IFRC's Global Water and Sanitation Initiative. This means that projects must: Target vulnerable communities where WASH coverage is well below national average and where WASH related morbidity and mortality is above national averages (especially areas where cholera/AWD is endemic). Often where government or other WASH actors have limited capacity or activities. Recognise the importance on WASH as a vital component of good nutrition and as a means to reduce stunting and other effects of poor WASH and nutrition. Community based approaches working with and through grass root Red Cross National Societies volunteer and branch networks. Increased focus upon sanitation and hygiene, sustainable community based management while not de-emphasising the need for safe water access. Where practical applying low-cost sustainable and innovative technology choices. Apply and support Integrated Water Resource Management, working closely with Government and other WASH actors and stakeholders, ensuring environmental sustainability. Ensure gender equity, having a special focus upon women and children, WASH services at health structures and schools in the community and menstrual hygiene management. Ensuring social inclusion disability, age and other cross cutting elements are fully embedded in all activities in all contexts. Promote oral rehydration, hand washing, safe water storage, solid waste disposal. Provdie WASH services at health structures that provide post-partum, maternal and neo-natal services and at schools where hygiene promotion and MHM can also be delivered. Undertake a robust real time and post implementation monitoring and evaluation framework throughout while maximising sustainability over time. KPIs will be SDG linked and we have already unpacked WASAH SDG6 indicators and will do the same for health related SDGs. Projects to scale (typically 100,000 beneficiaries per project) and over a typical time scale of 3 to 5 years. Increasingly we consider additional post implementation low key sustainability activities continuing in the longer term and increased interaction and promotion of sanitation marketing and local entrepreneurship.

Capacity building occurs at several levels in the partnership: at individual and community levels, as well as for the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies implementing the partnership. At an individual level, volunteers are extensively trained on hygiene promotion and awareness, which they in turn pass on to community members. Children in schools are also trained, for example on hand washing, which they share with their families. Additionally, some individuals are trained as masons to enable small repairs and local maintenance of water pumps and sanitation facilities. The latter is linked to technology transfer and knowledge sharing. At a community level, not-for-profit Water Committees are set up in the communities where water pumps are rehabilitated or built. These committees will manage the day to day operations and payments of water, as well as ensuring that money is saved up for repairs on the facilities (from income on the water). In this way, communities and individuals are empowered to lead healthier and safer lives through the partnership.

In addition to frequent communication between the partners, the partnership has hired a joint intern who works at both the IFRC Secretariat and Nestl head quarters in Geneva and Vevey, respectively. The intern also went to Ghana to support the local partners in the implementation of the partnership. Locally in, for example, Ghana, the Ghana Red Cross is implementing the WASH projects in 50 communities which were identified in collaboration with Nestl Ghana. The local partners also collaborate on communications about the partnership, and are exploring the potential for growing the partnership.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Nestl S.A.