On November 29th, Heart to Heart Foundation Malawi Branch co-hosted its annual WASH Forum with the local government and other organizations, such as Water Aid, World Vision, Evidence Action, etc.. under the theme ‘Accelerating Change: Towards Sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for All.’

<Presentations and small group discussions>

Throughout the forum, presentations on various agendas were shared, covering support for systems and infrastructure for clean and safe water supply, and WASH data collection and management based on ICT.

Small group discussions were also conducted to explore best practices and find solutions to various challenges associated with the presented agendas.

<Heart to Heart foundation booth- WASH Product (SATO) introduction>

Heart to Heart Foundation introduced sanitation facilities (latrines, hand washing facilities) in the middle of the Forum, which are durable and reasonably priced for villagers to purchase.

<Machinga District commissioner Mr. Rodrick Mateauma>

Mr. Rodrick Mateauma, the Machinga District Commissioner, expressed gratitude to the many organizations involved in the WASH improvement project. He stated, "Before the support of NGOs, Machinga district faced a severe cholera problem. However, now water and latrine facilities have improved, and out of 24 traditional authorities, 19 have achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status." As the district commissioner, he also conveyed his willingness to further improve

the WASH status in collaboration with local villagers and the government.

Mr. Maxwell, the Country Manager of Heart to Heart Foundation has mentioned that through community-based WASH project, Machinga district was able to successfully reduce the Cholera and Diarrhea cases. He emphasized the importance of cooperation with local partners.

By the lesson and learnt during this Forum, we look forward to making sustainable WASH environment by collaborating with local partners including villagers.