Knowledge Map: WASH in Schools and Coronavirus

Knowledge Map: WASH in Schools and Coronavirus. WASH in Schools Network, 2020.

The WASH in Schools Network (UNICEF, GIZ, Save the Children, WATERAID; Emory, LSHTM, among others) has compiled this knowledge map with links to relevant materials about COVID-19 for learners, their families and the education system.

The map is intended for the time when schools are closed and in preparation for re-opening of schools. We want to help you navigate through the jungle of information about COVID-19,specifically its relevance for the school community.

Therefore, we selected relevant information from high-quality, reliable sources for the education system, families and for pre-primary, primary and secondary school children.

Surveillance of water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: A practical tool – WHO; UNICEF

Surveillance of water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: A practical tool. WHO; UNICEF, 2019.

Adequate access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) in schools is every child’s right, as recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Protocol on Water and Health and the Ostrava Declaration on Environment and Health.

Access to WASH in schools in the pan-European region presents many and diverse challenges. A key step to improve the situation, bringing better educational and health outcomes, is high-quality surveillance to raise awareness and drive progress.

This publication provides a practical tool to support countries in strengthening surveillance of WASH in schools. The findings will inform the development of supportive regulations and improvement planning to safeguard children’s health, well-being, dignity and cognitive performance.

The tool also enables countries to use the data collected to facilitate policy dialogue and inform international reporting, including on progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets related to WASH in schools.

Mapping the evidence on WASH promotion in communities, schools and health facilities – 3ie Impact

Mapping the evidence on WASH promotion in communities, schools and health facilities. 3ie Impact, August 2018.  

Highlights

• The number of rigorous studies on WASH promotion in households, schools and communities has increased substantially.
• Very few rigorous studies exist on WASH promotion in medical facilities.
• Many new studies evaluate previously under-researched approaches, such as community-led total sanitation, and measure important sector outcomes, including school attendance and reducing open defecation.
• More studies are needed to measure programme effects on the sustained use of technologies and slippage back to open defecation.
• A critical need exists for studies on promotional approaches for vulnerable populations, especially people living with disabilities, for whom no studies are available. New, high-quality systematic reviews are available, including ones on the effectiveness of hygiene and sanitation behavioural approaches and menstrual hygiene management.
• Synthesis gaps remain for high-quality reviews on WASH interventions in schools and on decentralised delivery

Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: global baseline report 2018 – WHO; UNICEF

Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: global baseline report 2018. WHO; UNICEF 2018.

Photo credit: WaterAid

92 countries and five out of eight SDG regions had sufficient data to estimate coverage of basic drinking water services in schools.

69% of schools had a basic drinking water service, defined as an improved source with water available at the time of the survey.

One in four primary schools and one in six secondary schools had no drinking water service. There were insufficient data to calculate global estimates for pre-primary schools.

101 countries and seven out of eight SDG regions had sufficient data to estimate coverage of basic sanitation services in schools.

The ABC of WASH in Schools in India

“The ABC of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) improvement in schools” in India by the the Urban Management Centre is a handbook developed under the Ahmedabad Sanitation Action Lab (ASAL), a three year action research program.

The program was specially designed to implement innovative solutions to school WASH  problems in identified slum settlements of Ahmedabad. ASAL was led by the Urban Management Centre (UMC) in partnership with Government of Gujarat (GoG) and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) with support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The handbook is a compilation of the strategies adopted, tools developed and materials used to improve WASH infrastructure in schools. It will be useful for schools as well as NGOs working with schools on water and sanitation. It can be used by any authority whether national, state or city level as a resource for implementation of programs in school at different scales. The handbook can also be used as a reference for policy or decision making as well as elaboration of programs.

Download the publication “The ABC of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) improvement in schools“, September 2017, 54 p.

See the full list of reports, tools, manuals and videos of the Ahmedabad Sanitation Action Lab (ASAL) programme.

Lessons learned from WASH and NTD projects

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are essential for preventing and managing diseases including neglected tropical diseases (NTD) which affect over 1 billion people among the poorest communities.

Closer coordination of WASH and NTD programmes is needed to ensure WASH services are reaching the most vulnerable populations. Many WASH and NTD actors have started to work together on the planning and implementation of their projects and have documented their experiences and lessons learnt.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a paper that draws on examples from eighteen countries to summarise emerging successes and challenges. Several examples relate to WASH in Schools projects. Two case studies are highlighted: the Lao PDR and Cambodia CL-SWASH initiative and the CARE Integrated WASH and NTDs Programme in Ethiopia.

WHO, 2017. Water, sanitation and hygiene to combat neglected tropical diseases : initial lessons from project implementation. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. 6 p. WHO reference number: WHO/FWC/WSH/17.02. Available at: www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/wash-to-combat-neglected-tropical-diseases/en/

 

A WASH in Schools bibliography

A preliminary literature search retrieved more than 50 WASH in schools studies published from 2012 through March 2017. 19 of these were selected for the bibliography. Studies 1 and 5 discuss menstrual hygiene management and study 8 provides information on the life-cycle costs of WASH access in Kenyan schools.

Study 7 describes how children perform as “change agents” or hygiene teachers in Zambia. Other studies discuss health impacts and how WASH in schools affects attendance, gender parity, etc.

2017

1 – Reprod Health. 2017 Mar – Mapping the knowledge and understanding of menarche, menstrual hygiene and menstrual health among adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries.

LMIC must recognize that lack of preparation, knowledge and poor practices surrounding menstruation are key impediments not only to girls’ education, but also to self-confidence and personal development. In addition to investment in private latrines with clean water for girls in both schools and communities, countries must consider how to improve the provision of knowledge and understanding and how to better respond to the needs of adolescent girls.

2 – Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2017 Feb  – Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools in Indonesia: A cross-sectional assessment on sustaining infrastructural and behavioral interventions.

Intervention schools were more likely to have handwashing stations with soap and water. In multivariable analyses, schools with a toilet operation and maintenance fund were more likely to have functional toilets. Students who learn hygiene skills from their teachers were less likely to defecate openly, more likely to share hygiene knowledge with their parents, and more likely to wash their hands. Survey data were comparable with government data, suggesting that Indonesian government monitoring may be a reliable source of data to measure progress on the SDGs. This research generates important policy and practice findings for scaling up and sustaining WASH in schools and may help improve WASH in schools programs in other low-resource contexts.

3 –  Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Jan – Water Quality, Sanitation, and Hygiene Conditions in Schools and Households in Dolakha and Ramechhap Districts, Nepal: Results from A Cross-Sectional Survey.

The presence of domestic animals roaming inside schoolchildren’s homes was significantly associated with drinking water contamination. Our findings call for an improvement of WASH conditions at the unit of school, households, and communities.

4 – Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2017 Jan – The Role of Adherence on the Impact of a School-Based Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Intervention in Mali.

These results indicate that a comprehensive WASH intervention and a focus on increasing adherence may help maximize the health effects of school WASH programs, but that WASH alone might not be sufficient to decrease pupils’ absenteeism.

Schools Promoting Learning Achievement through Sanitation and Hygiene – SPLASH

Recent studies on sanitation acess & violence,and others

Below are links to the abstracts or full text of recently published articles:

Access to sanitation and violence against women: evidence from Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data in Kenya. Int J Environ Health Res. 2016 June.
Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26593879

This study analyzed 2008 Kenya Demographic Health Survey’s data and found women who primarily practice open defecation (OD), particularly in disorganized communities, had higher odds of experiencing recent non-partner violence

Untangling the Impacts of Climate Change on Waterborne Diseases: a Systematic Review of Relationships between Diarrheal Diseases and Temperature, Rainfall, Flooding, and Drought. Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Apr 25.
Abstract: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b06186

Key areas of agreement include a positive association between ambient temperature and diarrheal diseases, with the exception of viral diarrhea and an increase in diarrheal disease following heavy rainfall and flooding events. Insufficient evidence was available to evaluate the effects of drought on diarrhea. There is evidence to support the biological plausibility of these associations, but publication bias is an ongoing concern.

The Impact of a School-Based Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program on Absenteeism, Diarrhea, and Respiratory Infection: A Matched–Control Trial in Mali. Amer Jnl Trop Med Hyg, Current issue
Abstract – http://www.ajtmh.org/content/early/2016/04/21/ajtmh.15-0757.abstract

We found that a school-based WASH intervention can have a positive effect on reducing rates of illness, as well as absence due to diarrhea. However, we did not find evidence that these health impacts led to a reduction in overall absence. Higher absence rates are less likely attributable to the intervention than the result of an imbalance in unobserved confounders between study groups.

WASHplus Survey on Private Sector Support for WASH in Schools

Dear Colleagues:

In preparation for a targeted activity, WASHplus is conducting a survey on private sector support for WASH in Schools to determine what organizations are involved, where they are working, and what their programs entail.

We would appreciate your responses to this brief survey 7 question survey if you have or know of WASH in Schools programs where the private sector is involved, or if you are part of a company that supports WASH in Schools.

Survey link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/T6WJKTV

Many thanks,
Dan Campbell
Email: dacampbell@fhi360.org