The target which is under the UN Millennium Development Goal 7 of ensuring environmental sustainability, is meant to be achieved by 2015.

The target under MDG 7 is to halve the percentage of people without access to safe water.

Currently, the country’s population with access to safe drinking water is estimated to be at 73 percent and government expects to increase the percentage figure by more than 80 percent by 2012. Only about 45 percent Rwandans have access to hygienic sanitation facilities.

Butare said that the MDG, water and sanitation is in the priorities in the five year plan of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy to be attained by 2012.

In water supply and sanitation, EDPRS plans to raise rural water supply coverage to 85 percent by 2012, while in sanitation coverage for rural household shall increase from 38 percent to 65 percent by 2012.

It’s said that, the proportion of schools with latrines complying with health norms shall rise from 10 to 80 percent.

Butare said this during the signing of a grant agreement worth $25m, a second phase of the National Program of Water Supply and Sanitation in Rural (PNEAR).

The grant provided by African Development Bank (ADB) and will be spent in rural communities providing water and sanitation services was signed last Friday at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) premises.

The grant will ensure the sustainable access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation which is in line with the MDGs and Vision 2020 through the EDPRS.

“As you know (PNEAR), has been identified in order to contribute to the achievement of MDGs and to the achievement of the vision 2020 objectives,” Finance Minister James Musoni said.

Butare noted that big achievements that have been registered in different districts across the country.

He cited Rwamagana district as an example which has already registered 85 percent.

Butare hailed different development partners like Japanese, Belgium cooperation and ADB who have contributed to the county’s efforts to achieve of 100 percent coverage by 2020.

Source: Gertrude Majyambere, New Times / allAfrica.com, 14 Sep 2009

[An audit commissioned by the Dutch government and undertaken in 2008 by the international accountancy firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers, found that after two years of implementation of the GFSP there was “widespread corruption” at the programme secretariat - IRIN, 12 Jun 2008. The National Coordinator of the GSFP, Mr Michael Nsowah, has since been dismissed as the head of the programme, according to a report on Joy FM radio on 22 September 2009.]

She noted that often times when Ghana school feeding is mentioned a picture of children eating is what immediately comes to mind. However, she said a lot of activities take place before the food is cooked. “How the food is purchased and produced, the energy source used in cooking, the type of water used to cook and drink, hygienic nature of the kitchen , and the environment, are all important complementary service play in the success of the GSFP, she outlined.

Ms Jehanfo was speaking at Water and Sanitation workshop under the theme, “Chattering the Way Forward in Addressing the Water and Sanitation Issues Affecting the GSFP” in Tamale. It was organized by SEND-Ghana and sponsored by SNV, IBIS, ActionAid Ghana, TRIAS, PLAN Ghana, CRS, FONG, UWRAP, SMA, NNED, New Energy , IFAD and ACDEP.

Ms Jehanfo noted that water is critical to the GSFP as no cooking can be done without water. “Cooking with no availability of potable water has diverse negative impact on health and quality of education, especially for the girls as they are often the ones selected to go searching for water”.

Source: Mahama Zakaria-Tamale, Public Agenda / allAfrica.com, 02 Oct 2009

“The government is doing its best to get the situation under control,” Mwamaja said. “Sufficient supplies of medicines and medical personnel have been sent to the affected areas.”

Handeni district commissioner Seif Mpembenwe said residents had been advised to dig and use toilets, as well as boil drinking water to prevent cholera, an acute illness characterized by watery diarrhoea.

Source: IRIN, 06 Oct 2009

Read the original article in French in Agence Nouakchott d’Information / allAfrica.com, 07 Sep 2009

WECF and local partners have built more than 20 Urine Diverting Dry Toilet (UDDT) Buildings for schools, as demonstration projects in different countries of the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region. Through these projects, WECF has shown that improved sanitation facilities can be provided at less cost than flush-toilets which need to be connected to central water supply and sewerage systems.

The UDDT systems were widely accepted by pupils and teachers. Local residents showed an interest in the (re-)use of urine and faeces as fertilizers, although acceptance was influenced by local cultural practices.

Key success factors in the use of UDDT systems were:

• good education of pupils, teachers, care takers and cleaning staff
• regular cleaning and maintenance of the UDDT
• early involvement of all stakeholders (director, pupils, teachers, cleaning-staff and caretaker, different levels of administration, farmers)

This brochure is intended for school-directors and teachers, administration-employees, engineers, architects and construction workers from the field and NGOs. It includes design and maintenance guidelines for UDDT systems in schools, and photographs of the systems used in the project countries.

The brochure was realized with financial support of Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fondation Ensemble (France) and the European Commission DG Environment.

“The gadget does not need electricity or chemicals and has no effect on the taste of water,” says Michael Oketcho, the project manager. Oketcho explains that Uganda was selected because of its high usage of open surface water.

“Most rural people use water from lakes, rivers, wells, rain water and swamps, while in urban areas, 95% of the wells and springs contain faecal matter,” says Oketcho.

The gadget filters between four and six litres of water per hour. It is suitable for schools, households, hotels, health centres, camping teams, and disaster and emergency hit areas. It weighs less than 500g and can filter up to 7,000 litres of water (350 jerrycans) before the filter is replaced. For less than the cost of one bag of charcoal, CrystalPur fllters can deliver 7,000 litres of safe drinking water.

The filter has been tested and approved by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

Diageo Foundation has donated 3,500 units which have been distributed in over 150 primary and secondary schools in Kampala and Wakiso districts. The water filter programme started in October 2008 and will end in October 2009.

Source: Patrick Jaramogi, New Vision, 8 Sep 2009

CrystalPur filter. Diageo/EnterpriseWorks/VIA

Sanitation is one the issues featured on AusAID’s Global Education Website. The objective of the Global Education Website is to increase the amount and quality of teaching of global education in Australian primary and secondary schools. The site supports the AusAID Global Education Program which aims to raise awareness and understanding among Australian school students of international issues, development and poverty, and to prepare them to live in an increasingly globalised world and to be active citizens shaping better futures.

The Sanitation global issue page provides the following case studies and teaching activities on:

• community-led total sanitation
• improving toilets
• spreading disease
• urban poor getting connected in Bangalore

There are also two project pages on Sanitation and Disease, one for lower and upper secondary years (LS-U/Sec) and one for upper primary years (UP)

Perhaps another similarity, neither structural nor physical but attitudinal is that girls in both schools visit the bushes to attend to natures call whenever they are in school, and exposes them to the dangers of sexual and other forms of physical and psychological violence.

[...] The Big lottery (U.K) Funded Stop Violence Against Girls in School (SVAGS) project [implemented by ActionAid in Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya] is concerned about making the school environment safer for girls through the institution and enactment of the requisite policies and legislations that focus specifically on alleviating violence tendencies against girls in school. On the occasion of Children’s Day in Ghana, it is time to pause and reflect on the state of child protection, survival and development policies and practices in Ghana, with a central focus, Violence Against Girls in school.

[T]he lack of separate toilets for girls as a major cause of absenteeism for girls in schools. Adequate toilet facilities require the provision of separate and decent toilets and urinals for boys and girls in school. In 2008, the Ministry of Education reported that only 48% out of the total number of 13,247 primary schools have access to toilet facilities in Ghana with the highest proportion of primary schools with toilets (90%) in Tema and the lowest (10%) in Kintampo South District. At the Junior High School Level, only 52% of public schools had toilets with the highest (93%) in Dangbe West in the Greater Accra Region and the lowest (9%) in the Juabeso district in the Western Region.

The absence of toilets for girls does not only affect school attendance but also contributes to the denial of their right to dignity and quality education. The national completion rate for boys at the primary level is 91% whereas that of girls is 79% which suggests that boys have 10% additional chances of completing primary school than girls. This is the reason why the gender parity ration is 1:0.96 as against the target of 1:1 that was missed as far back as 2005. The situation is attributed mainly to the absence of a comprehensive and operational infrastructural policy of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, even though the ministry claims there exist one on the face but has seen little or no implementation and coordination.

Click on image for more information on school sanitation

The result of the apparent laxity in implementing and coordinating the said policy (if it exists at all) is to blame for the over 16,000 basic schools without toilets. Before I proceed to make any recommendations to the Government, I would like to humbly request of the Ghana Education Service to inform Ghanaians on what it has been up to all these years, until the realization that up to 48% of our basic schools have no toilets. Did this happen overnight? …What about the past Parliamentary Select Committees on education and gender? …. And the Ministry of Women and Children. Were they aware our children, especially girls had no toilets in schools, and still expected them to pass and pass well? If they were aware, what did they do? What about the District Chief Executives who have led this county in the past….How did they feel in awarding school contracts that had no toilets at all? Children are a vulnerable group…with no voice and whose rights need to be protected and provided for. In that respect any person who attempts consciously or ignorantly acts in a manner as to deprive them of their right to dignity, development and survival cannot escape without blame.

[...] Ghana needs strong institutions who can prevent even an N.G.O from building a school in a locality just because it has no toilet facility in its design ; a Ghana Education Service that can prevent District Assemblies from building schools without separate toilets for girls..or a Ghana Education Service that can lobby and advocate for the inclusion of girl friendly facilities at the District Level. This is what we need…..An Education Service that can leverage the political interest of politically motivated DCE’s and the real development needs of the child ,especially girls…and a Civil Society that can monitor District Assemblies to make sure they implement infrastructure policies of the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education should collaborate with the GETFund, Social Investment Fund, International Donors and other funding agency in basic school infrastructure to adopt a common school design which includes separate toilets and changing rooms for girls. The support of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education could be sought n this respect, to facilitate the harmonization of institutional interests between the Ministry of Local Government , Education, Women and children. This should not be left for the Infrastructure Coordinating Unit of the Ministry. It should be at the Ministerial level with the participation of the Infrastructure Unit. After interagency consensus has been achieved on the policy, the Infrastructure Unit may now commence the actual work for which it was set up-monitor and coordinate compliance of District Assemblies to the infrastructure policy. The unit may seek a court order to prevent any District Assembly from putting up any school building without strict recourse to the infrastructural policy for basic schools.

What about the over 16,000 schools already built without toilets? District Assemblies should be encouraged to come out with collaborative strategies to construct separate toilets for girls in such schools. This could be done by community-District Assembly partnerships where the DA’s will provide cement and roofing sheets for such projects, with the communities donating labour, wood, and other local resources available. On children’s day, the 31st of August, the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition as part of the Stop Violence Against Girls in School project wishes to entreat all and sundry to renew our commitment as a nation to making the school environment and the world a safer place for children.

This opinion piece was written by Kofi Asare, National Program Officer, Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC).

Source: Kofi Asare, Public Agenda / allAfrica.com, 31 Aug 2009

Source: Ronald Kalyango, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 21 Jun 2009

Another project activity is the support being provided to the Bwindi Community Hospital: this includes the construction of a water treatment plant and sanitation facilities, improvements to the operating theatre and the donation of new surgical instruments.

The Swarovski Water School is a corporate social responsibility initiative of the Swarovski company, famous for its crystal glass products. The school based in Austria teaches young children between the ages of 8 and 13 the importance of sustainable water use.

A separate survey conducted in Hanoi found that of 1,400 schools nearly all failed to have enough sanitation facilities, says Nguyen Nhu Hoa, deputy head of the office for planning and finance in the city’s education department.

Regulations require one toilet for every 100 students and one tap for every 60 students.

Tran Thu An, a sanitation programme officer with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), says the issue of toilet facilities rarely gets the consideration it deserves. The UN, as part of its “child-friendly” schools campaign in Vietnam, has been trying to focus on proper sanitation facilities. In the past year, it has been working with MoET, helping to design and build better toilet facilities across the country.

Part of the problem is that there are so many pressing needs when it comes to education that sanitation is often the last thing considered. At the moment, the government’s priority is to replace all the makeshift shelters that serve as classrooms with concrete schools that can withstand monsoon winds and rains, says An. Yet when these new schools are built, toilets are not part of the plans.

The responsibility for building latrines lies in part with local authorities and communities, who often lack the funds or interest. So in the end, says An, toilets just do not get built.

Tran Duy Tao, head of administration for the school infrastructure and equipment department at the education ministry, says it is not always a lack of money. [...] In crowded, yet wealthier, urban areas, schools may have the funds but no room to build more toilets.

In 2006, the government declared that all kindergartens and schools would have hygienic toilets and all children would have access to clean water by 2010 [but] at the current rate of construction, it is highly unlikely this goal will be met.

Parents at the Hanoi elementary school were so upset over the dirty facilities and concerns for their children’s health that a few months ago they decided to chip in and pay a monthly fee [US50 cents] to have them cleaned.

Source: IRIN, 17 Jun 2009

The funding comprises a UA 10 million African Development Fund (ADF) grant and a UA 6 million grant from the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) Trust Fund.

The PNEAR aims at improving drinking water supply services in 216 rural localities in the North, West and South provinces; improving household sanitation services in 216 rural localities, and community sanitation services in 15 districts. The overall goal is to provide rural communities with sustainable drinking water supply and sanitation services to improve their health and living conditions.

It involves the construction of 16,000 new individual latrines for the most vulnerable families; 130 new multi-compartment latrines and 100 storm-water harvesting reservoirs in village public infrastructures (schools, health centres and other public places); and the training of 500 masons on latrine construction techniques.

Other outputs include the training of 250 female outreach workers and 100 school teachers on hygiene in villages; provision of a large drinking water supply network covering 150 km; constructing 10 medium water supply scheme networks covering 275 km; developing 1000 drinking water supply sources fitted with laundry tubs; training 200 district borehole drillers in the maintenance of water facilities; training 10 private operators in the operation and maintenance of complex water supply systems; and conducting outreach and sensitization campaigns in 216 localities in the three provinces concerned with the programme.

[...] The direct beneficiaries of the sub-programme are the inhabitants of the 15 districts who account for 5.05 million of the country’s 9.7 population.

The sub-programme is estimated at UA 20.265 million. The ADF funding will cover 79% of the costs while the government and the beneficiary community will provide UA 3.254 million or 16%, and UA 1.011 million or 5% of the total cost, respectively.

* 1 UA Units of Account) = 1.54805 US$ = 877.915 RWF on 01/07/2009

Source: African Development Bank, 02 Jul 2009

Similarly, the armies have constructed a school building of ten-rooms, 5-chambered toilet, bathroom and 70 sets of furniture at an investment of Rs. 3.2 million [US$ 42,000] . There are about 82 retired British and Indian [army staff members] in Lalmatiya.

Source: Kantipur / NGO Forum, May 8, 2009

“People are resorting to drinking water from anywhere because of the shortage,” Shahnaaz Sharif, director of public health in the Ministry of Public Health, told IRIN.

“Recently, four deaths have been reported in Garbatulla [District] where about 280 AWD cases have been reported in the last three weeks,” Sharif said, adding that samples from those affected had been collected for laboratory testing. [...] “In total, 24 cholera deaths and 1,452 cases of diarrhoea have been recorded since January [2009],” he said.

[...]

Inadequate sanitation has exacerbated the situation. “We only have one toilet for 600 pupils. It is the main reason why our school has been affected,” Sora Boru, a head teacher at Bullesa primary school in Isiolo, told IRIN. “Many children have [not] reported for school… Parents are keeping them at home.”

Hygiene awareness campaigns have been intensified in the water-scarce region.

According to Yussuf Ali, a trader, the price of bottled water has increased. “A half litre [bottle] of water is selling at Ksh.100 [about US$1.3]… even higher than petrol.

See also: Kenya: Acute watery diarrhoea kills eight in Coast Province, IRIN, 18 Jun 2009

Source: IRIN, 17 Jun 2009

Lotika Shaunik Paintal founded Water Centric in 2008 to raise funds and provide expertise for school water and sanitation projects.

For its first project Water Centric has partnered with local Indian NGO partner Sakshi and in the US with H2O for Water to provide water, sanitation and hygiene education to 10 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools.

Project updates are posted on Water Centric’s newsletter on its web site. Water Centric is also on Facebook.

H20 for Life connects schools in the United States with schools in developing countries to complete WASH in Schools projects. It began in 2007 as an individual school project at Highview Middle School in New Brighton, Minnesota. Now H2O for Life has nearly US 100 schools partnered with schools in developing countries. Schools raise 50% of the project funds and partner NGOs provide match funding for the remaining 50%. The H20 for Life web site has information on ongoing and completed projects, and projects seeking funding. It also provides fundraising tools and tips, and classroom activities.

“A lot has been said about what she [Janet Museveni] can do for this most socio-economically marginalised region. One would propose electrification and the provision of a robust and efficient transport infrastructure as the pillars for developing Karamoja. However, as a public health professional working in this region, I beg to differ”.

“A baseline survey by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) reveals that hygiene conditions of homesteads is appalling, with 61.1% households littered with faeces, while the latrine coverage stands at 0.3%. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) puts the figure at 9%, but I would attribute this to institutional latrines”.

“Knowledge on hand washing is lacking, with people knowing two critical hand washing events – before eating food and before preparing it. There is little knowledge of the other three critical and important events – after visiting the latrine or bush, after handling children’s faeces and before feeding infants. [...] The incidence of diarrhoea is at 46.5%”.

“Speaking during the participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation training of government extension staff by the IRC, the deputy resident district commissioner (RDC) expressed fears that poor sanitation had become the biggest threat in the region, next to insecurity”.

[...] “A boarding school in Kangole with 1,005 pupils has one five-stance latrine, never mind its condition. Considering the patchy nature of health facilities in the region, these children are sitting on a time bomb. Elsewhere, myths such as a Karimojong elder should “never mix” his feaces with those of an in-law still loom, thereby making the idea of owning a latrine so alien”.

“Eradication of poverty, hunger, child mortality, achievement of universal primary education, gender equality and empowerment of women are the key aspects of the millenium development goals. We can set a right environment for their attainment by streamlining sanitation in all aspects of development programmes to improve the sanitation ladder of the people of Karamoja”.

Source: Charles Rodda, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 09 Jun 2009

Although government has promised to improve sanitation within its education system, programmes are yet to be implemented. To speed up the process, a national network of more than 150 non-governmental organisations, Diorano Wash, has launched a clean water initiative in 400 Malagasy schools that enables children to wash their hands at least once a day.

“[The water shortage] results from the fact that the country’s school construction programme did not take into account the required infrastructure. Funding for new schools did not include money to install running water,” said Diorano Wash national coordinator Herivelo Rakotondrainibe.

Lack of clean water is a problem in both urban and rural areas on the island, according to Rakotondrainibe, but the more rural the school, the more difficult it is to find sanitary conditions. In many rural schools, children are therefore instructed to bring a bottle of water each morning, which they use to wash, drink and for ablutions.

[...] According to a 2002 study by the Antananarivo-based National Institute of Statistics, more than half of under-five-year-olds die of diarrhoea in Madagascar, mainly caused by lack of sanitation. [...] According to an official survey of hygiene at Malagasy schools in February 2009, only 18 percent of the country’s 111 school districts have access to drinking water at their educational facilities. Only 30 percent have toilet facilities, while pupils in the rest of the schools have to defecate in nature.

[...] A 2009 National Institute of Statistics study confirmed that lack of access to drinking water directly relates to the percentage of children missing school, particularly due to diarrhoea. About 3.5 million school hours are lost each year in Madagascar, the study found, calculating that of the 2.5 million school-going pupils those who fall ill need about three days to recover.

Numerous schools in Madagascar have now started to educate their pupils about the importance of hygiene and sanitation. Ilafy Primary School, for example, introduces the topic of basic hygienic behaviour, such as washing of hands before meals, from Grade 1. Having soap to clean their hands properly is yet another problem, however. “The school district provides some soap, but it is never enough for all schools,” lamented [Aimée Rasoanirina, one of the school's teachers].

[..] “Elected political representatives have promised us a system of water supply, but so far their promises have not been kept,” said Landy Rasoatavy, a mother of three from Ilafy. She says she boils water for her children every morning, because their only source of water is a polluted river.

Until government implements sanitation systems in the country’s schools, teachers and pupils will continue to rely on initiatives, like Diorano Wash, which are dependent on funding from international donors. UNICEF and USAID have so far spent $4 million on school hygiene programmes in Madagascar.

But the country’s current political crisis might be an obstacle to a swift implementation of existing sanitation policies. Madagascar has been led by a transitional government under ex-Antananarivo mayor and former disc jockey Andry Rajoelina since Mar. 17, after former president Marc Ravalomanana was toppled. Newly appointed Minister of Water, Niry Lanto Randriamahazo, is yet to announce a strategy to improve the supply of clean drinking water in schools.

Related web site: WASH in Schools

Source: Fanja Saholiarisoa, IPS, 13 May 2009

The project coordinator, Teo Namata, said a survey in the city divisions showed that the sanitation in schools was appalling as the majority lacked latrines. “In one of the schools, we found 900 pupils and only two latrines for all the pupils,” Namata said. She said teachers and pupils will also be trained on how to operate the facilities given to the schools. The school project involves rain water harvesting programmes. Schools will also be given water tanks for tapping water. A total of 3,610 students and teachers are expected to benefit from the hygiene education component.

Source: Juliet Waiswa, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 12 May 2009

Addressing the gathering, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, who is world renowned for starting the sanitation movement and improving public health, said, “Children are more receptive to new ideas. Students serve as media for spreading the message of sanitation in homes and influence their parents to adopt toilets.” Dr Pathak added, “But the mere provision of sanitation facilities is not enough. It’s the use of latrines and hygiene behaviour of people that provides health benefits. Dignity to sanitation should be taught to them so that they have no shame cleaning their toilets.”

The workshop will be attended by 60 students from lower secondary schools in Thimphu, school health coordinators and 10 school dropouts to discuss sanitation practices with ten students from Orissa, India, and 13 Sulabh international officials.

Addressing the gathering, the education minister Lyonpo Thakur Singh Powdyel said, “[...] sanitation today becomes even more pertinent, because the greater the level of consumption, the greater the level of litter and waste.”

Source: Sonam Pelden, Kuensel Online, 20 May 2009

Working with Lifebuoy, Spar and Build It in the spirit of the greater good, Exp spearheaded the ‘Healthy Hands’ campaign, which aimed to raise funds for schools in need throughout South Africa.

Founded in 1982, Exp was the first South African marketing agency to investigate target audiences in township settlements. “The business started by selling services that worked in the old townships and in the rural areas of South Africa,” explains founder Ron Boon. “At that time classical media reach to these areas was dominated by radio and to a lesser extent outdoor advertising, with very limited television reach. We created specialist programmes for different categories of product. The response to our programmes was excellent and many longstanding business partnerships were forged, some of which still exist to this day. As an example, clients such as Unilever and Nestlé were amongst our first clientele and we still work with these two companies 27 years later.”

Nearly three decades later, Exp has remained passionate about initiating brand activations that not only impress their clients, but add value to the lives of the people they target. The Healthy Hands project is one such initiative.

Often deadly diseases can circulate through a community due to a lack of sanitation. In rural and developing communities this can be a real danger due to the fact that there is often a lack of clean water and adequate healthcare. Garon Bloom, project manager of the ‘Healthy Hands’ initiative at Exp, points out that the project managed to raise R400 000 to upgrade or build ablution facilities at 14 schools countrywide.

Four schools in particular were selected for an official handover of the new ablution facilities, as well as education on sanitation from the ‘Healthy Hands’ project. These schools were Phakamani Senior School in the Eastern Cape, Zwelihle Secondary School and Mtuba High School in Kwazulu Natal and Mopholusi Secondary School in Sebokeng.

Health officials educated the learners as to the benefits and importance of personal sanitation, after which each pupil was treated to a healthy and wholesome lunch. In addition, Lifebuoy, Spar and Build It will maintain an ongoing relationship with each school to assist with health education and general sanitation procedures.

Bloom reveals that the companies and pupils alike are excited for phase two of the project which is “due to get underway shortly”.

Source: Biz Community, 06 May 2009

Drinking water and sanitation facilities are also insufficient in many other schools. IRIN visited Char Qala Wazir Abad secondary school in Kabul where about 9,000 students have only one hand-operated water pump. “When it gets hot hundreds of students rush to the pump all at once,” said Sharifa, a teacher at the school.

[...] MoE officials acknowledge the lack of drinking water and sanitation facilities at schools but say such problems are limited to only 12 percent of state schools. “This year we will dig 5,000 wells at schools which lack water points,” Asif Nang, MoE’s spokesman, told IRIN.

“[School] toilets are not clean and well maintained. The current design and location of toilets are not acceptable for children, particularly girls… There are no facilities for grown-up girls,” Stanikzai said. “One of the reasons that the girls do not attend school is because there are no sanitation facilities,” said UNICEF’s Jalalabad head of office Prakash Tuladhar. “It is very important that water and sanitation [systems] are built as components of the school programme. If there are no latrines, then it is almost certain that girls will not be attending school.”

Washing hands with soap, particularly after visiting the toilet and before eating, can reduce child morbidity rates caused by diarrhoeal diseases by almost 50 percent, according to UNICEF. However, the practice is poorly understood and is rarely practiced by families, especially in rural communities. “In most of the schools hand washing facilities are not placed in a proper place. There is a lack of resources to provide soap for hand washing,” said UNICEF’s Stanikzai.

[...] Diarrhoea-related diseases account for 20 percent of deaths among children under five in Afghanistan, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Despite these staggering figures, there is no nationwide data about school absences due to diseases. UNICEF said it had been helping MoE to provide “safe drinking water and sustainable child friendly sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion” in 500 schools over the past few years.

Source: IRIN, 12 May 2009

The objective of the competition is to create awareness among the school students about safe water, sanitation coverage and hygiene practices. The competition will be held in two phases — 1st phase, schools from 24 selected remote upazilas will participate at the selection round and at the 2nd phase, winner teams of selection round will participate at quarterfinal, semi-final and final competition at district level.

Source: The Daily Star, 08 May 2009

School principal Bhairav Thapa said, “We teach the students to defecate in the toilet but the students are compelled to use open space as toilet due to lack of toilet in the school.” The school has urged the District Education Office to construct toilets and Shanti Janaadarsha Sewa Kendra working in drinking water sector to construct a tank for collecting rainwater. [Because of the water shortage], the school [...] has appointed two staff just to fetch water for the school.

Source: Bhim Gautam, Rajdhani / NGO Forum, 15 Apr 2009

UNICEF has set up a partnership with the Afghan Government to develop sustainable, community-based solutions. Schools and health centres are key entry points. Providing water points and gender-specific latrines results in better health for all, as well as increasing the enrolment of young girls in primary schools.

[...] UNICEF supports women’s literacy initiatives, specifically targeting internally displaced persons and returnees. And UNICEF-sponsored ‘Behaviour Change Committees’ teach populations about safe water, sanitation and hygiene practices.

Another UNICEF-sponsored project in Afghanistan, the ‘Healthy School Initiative’, aims not only to improve the learning environment for children but also to teach them valuable lessons they can share with their families at home. Students are taught the correct way to brush their teeth and wash their hands with soap and water, as well as basic first-aid training.

In the schools, the initiative provides students with drinking water and latrines, de-worming tablets and safe play areas where they can interact with their peers without fear of encountering a landmine.

Source: David Koch, UNICEF, 12 Mar 2009

At a press conference on 24 March 2009, Adrian Edwards, Senior  Spokesman of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), reported that in 2009 “UNICEF is aiming to select a village in each province of Afghanistan to showcase how a community can help ensure everyone adopts clean sanitation and hygiene practices”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports that its water engineers are working closely with the local water authorities on a range of urban and rural programmes. Hygiene promotion sessions are conducted in madrasas, hammams (bath houses) and other public places, as well as with families in their homes. [In March 2009] the ICRC water and habitat teams carried out:

• an urban project to supply water to 12,000 people in Heart;
• hygiene sessions for over 2,571 people from vulnerable communities in urban areas of Herat, Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar;
• improvements to the water supply and sanitation systems in one district and two provincial prisons. A total of 648 detainees will benefit from these programmes;
• six rural water supply projects in villages in Bamyan, Herat and Mazar provinces to provide safe water for 22,063 beneficiaries
• some of the planned rehabilitation of Mirwais hospital infrastructure in Kandahar.

Source: ICRC, 16 Apr 2009

Presenting on waste management, Sheikh Omar Dibba, a retired health worker and consultant said teachers should be involved in the promotion of health and hygiene issues in schools because they are important elements in the school and society. [..] Mr. Dibba urged for every house hold to have Dustin including schools and communities so as to reduce health hazards in our environment. He added that teachers at schools should advocate for change at the school level in terms of environment hygiene and sanitation.

[...] Other presenters presented on the issue of hygiene, water management and personal hygiene.

Source: Annia Gaye, Foroyaa, 27 Mar 2009