The long conflict in Afghanistan took a heavy toll on all major urban centres. Not only had there been extensive direct damage to property and infrastructure, but years of underinvestment in public services had resulted in very low coverage of piped water, whereas sanitation was rudimentary.
There were no water borne sewerage systems in Afghan cities; on-site sanitation facilities generally comprised of traditional toilets and septic tanks of poor construction quality which might pose a risk to groundwater resources and human and environmental health.
The GIZ Water Supply Improvement Programme (WSIP) Afghanistan aimed at rendering the water sector institutions in Afghanistan capable of improving water resources management and water supply and sanitation services, particularly for the urban poor.
This was to be achieved through 3 different project components.
The sanitation project was a subcomponent of component 2 – Capacity Development of Urban Water and Wastewater Utilities of the WSIP. Its objective was to ensure that sanitation and wastewater management services provided by local operating structures in semi- and peri-urban areas of
- Herat : Navin School, Old City Ponds, Old City Channel
- Kunduz: Public Park, Khaja Mashad High School
- Mazar-e-Sharif: Balkh University
and further project towns in the Northern region were sustainably improved.
