Tag Archives: WASH in schools

#MenstruationMatters in Bangladeshi schools

Posted on May 28, 2015 by | Leave a comment

28 May is Menstrual Hygiene Day. In Bangladesh, BRAC field staff are working hard to “end the hesitation around menstruation” especially in schools.

BRAC staff member (left) from Jessore district with sanitary napkins for schools.

BRAC staff member (left) from Jessore district with sanitary napkins for schools. Photo: Petra Brussee/IRC

Field staff of BRAC WASH in Bangladesh talk just as easily about menstrual hygiene as they do about water seals for toilets or hand pumps. At community level menstrual hygiene messages are included in the programme for adolescent girls and young women. Since 2006 about 45 million community cluster meetings have been organised.

In rural areas rags are used by women who cannot afford sanitary napkins. Field staff discuss menstrual hygiene with adolescent girls and young women, for example on how to wash rags with soap and dry them in the sun. They are also encouraged to speak up about menstrual hygiene says Abu Taleb Biswas of BRAC WASH in Hygiene Promotion – the backbone of BRAC WASH: “Women and adolescent girls learn to speak up about menstrual hygiene issues, something that was nearly unthinkable even a few years ago.”

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Campaigns and Events, Hygiene Promotion, South Asia

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Advancing WASH in schools monitoring – new UNICEF publication

Posted on April 27, 2015 by | 1 comment

Advancing WASH in Schools Monitoring coverGlobally, school water and sanitation coverage both increased by six per cent between 2008 and 2013. This is one of the key messages from a new UNICEF working paper “Advancing WASH in schools monitoring“.

The paper presents the best data available for the coverage of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in primary schools gathered from 149 countries for the period 2008-2013. It also compares current national WASH in Schools (WinS) monitoring indicators against global guidelines.

By providing this information the publication responds to the 2012 Call to Action, Raising Even More Clean Hands. It also aims to promote and support improved monitoring of WinS so that coverage indicators can be included in the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Publications

Tagged , , ,

Yes, hygiene and school enrolment are directly proportional

Posted on January 20, 2015 by | Leave a comment

In Bangladesh, the lack of separate latrines for girls and menstrual hygiene facilities in secondary schools are major factors in the disproportionate rate of absence and dropout of adolescent girls.

Sabrina Shaidullah Sabrina Shahidullah

A study undertaken in Bangladesh revealed an 11 per cent increase in girls’ enrolment mainly due to the provision of sanitary toilets.” –Technical paper series/IRC

In Bangladesh the standard number of toilets in schools has been set as a minimum of one toilet for every 60 students. However, this is far from being achieved. The infographic below shows that on average, schools in Bangladesh have half the number of toilets required. However, although 94 per cent of schools have latrines within the compound, a large number remain unusable because they are dirty or broken.

BRAC WASH School Sanitation graph

Source: UNICEF WASH for school children South Asia Report, 2012

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Dignity and Social Development, South Asia

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Oct 29, 2014 – The 3rd Annual Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in WASH in Schools Virtual Conference

Posted on October 28, 2014 by | Leave a comment

The 3rd Annual Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in WASH in Schools Virtual Conference, Wednesday 29 October 2014

The 3rd virtual MHM in WinS conference will build on the content and recommendations of the prior two conferences and continue the effort to fill in the gaps in the existing knowledge and advocacy around this important issue. The one-day conference will bring together academics and health, gender, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) experts from around the world currently implementing MHM-related activities.

Conference objectives:

  • To share recent research findings that relate to various aspects of MHM in WinS
  • To highlight school-based MHM program descriptions and their potential for scale
  • To share recommendations about how new MHM programs can be developed by WinS practitioners

Leave a comment

Posted in Campaigns and Events, Hygiene Promotion

Tagged , ,

Factors Associated With Pupil Toilet Use in Kenyan Primary Schools

Posted on September 19, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Factors Associated With Pupil Toilet Use in Kenyan Primary Schools. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2014, 11(9), 9694-9711; doi:10.3390/ijerph110909694

Joshua V. Garn, Bethany A. Caruso, et al.

The purpose of this study was to quantify how school sanitation conditions are associated with pupils’ use of sanitation facilities. We conducted a longitudinal assessment in 60 primary schools in Nyanza Province, Kenya, using structured observations to measure facility conditions and pupils’ use at specific facilities. We used multivariable mixed regression models to characterize how pupil to toilet ratio was associated with toilet use at the school-level and also how facility conditions were associated with pupils’ use at specific facilities.

We found a piecewise linear relationship between decreasing pupil to toilet ratio and increasing pupil toilet use (p < 0.01). Our data also revealed significant associations between toilet use and newer facility age (p < 0.01), facility type (p < 0.01), and the number of toilets in a facility (p < 0.01). We found some evidence suggesting facility dirtiness may deter girls from use (p = 0.06), but not boys (p = 0.98).

Our study is the first to rigorously quantify many of these relationships, and provides insight into the complexity of factors affecting pupil toilet use patterns, potentially leading to a better allocation of resources for school sanitation, and to improved health and educational outcomes for children.

Leave a comment

Posted in Africa, Sanitary Facilities

Tagged , , ,

Peace Corps Benin WASH Resources in French

Posted on May 30, 2014 by | 1 comment

WASHplus and Peace Corps/Benin have teamed up to produce a set of training and job aids for Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts.  Eventually, Peace Corps/Benin would like all volunteers serving in Benin to have some WASH training to integrate WASH into whatever their primary program focus is – education, health, environment.
wash_schools_toolkit-french2014-3

Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Toolkit

– Part 1 – Boîte à Outils: Assainissement Total Pilote par la Communaute (ATPC), 2014. Cette boîte à outils soutient l’exécution de la méthode « Assainissement Total Piloté par le Communauté » (ATPC). Cette méthode est basée sur les activités qui permettent aux membres de la communauté de prendre conscience du fait que la défécation à l’air- libre est un risque sanitaire pour tout le monde.

– Part 2 – Le Manuel Pas a Pas, 2014.

Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage

– Part 1 – Boîte à Outils: Le Traitement de l’Eau et la Conservation Sûre, 2014. Avoir accès à l’eau potable est un élément important pour rester en bonne santé et éviter les maladies – spécifiquement les maladies diarrhéiques.

– Part 2 – Manuel de Formation des Comites de Gestion d’Eau Villageois, 2014. Les matières dans cette boîte à outils servent principalement à aider les personnes chargées de promouvoir le traitement de l’eau et la conservation au niveau des ménages.

WASH in Schools Toolkit

– Part 1 – Boîte à Outils: l’Eau, l’Hygiene et l’Assainissement (WASH) en Milieu Scolaire, 2014. Pour cela, nous avons développé cette boîte à outils pour les activités en vue de la promotion de l’eau, l’hygiène, et l’assainissement (dénommé WASH) en milieu scolaire. Cette boîte contient l’essentiel pour la réussite d’une gamme d’activités.

– Part 2 – Guide des Possibilites d’Assainissement en Milieu Scolaire: Options pour l’Amelioration de ‘Assainissement, 2014.

1 Comment

Posted in Africa, Progress on Sanitation, Sanitary Facilities, Sanitation and Health

Tagged , ,

Menstrual hygiene reports from Bolivia, Philippines and Sierra Leone

Posted on May 27, 2014 by | Leave a comment

In 2012, UNICEF and the Center for Global Safe Water at Emory University initiated a programme to support collaborative research focused specifically on exploring the MHM challenges faced by female students in Bolivia, the Philippines, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The project includes developing or
strengthening MHM-related programming in schools in those countries. WASH_Philippines-6

Emory University sent research fellows to work with UNICEF and its in-country WASH in Schools partners on the programme. The assessment activities conducted and themes explored were guided by an ecological framework that covers societal, environmental, interpersonal, personal and biological factors. Questions for qualitative data collection were created to investigate and understand the personal challenges and needs girls have during menstruation in the school setting.

The results are now published as a series of reports:

Bolivia – Long, Jeanne, Bethany A. Caruso, Diego Lopez, Koenraad Vancraeynest, Murat Sahin, Karen L. Andes and Matthew C. Freeman, ‘WASH in Schools Empowers Girls’ Education in Rural Cochabamba, Bolivia: An assessment of menstrual hygiene management in schools’, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, November 2013.

Philippines – Jacquelyn, Bethany A. Caruso, Anna Ellis, Murat Sahin, Jonathan Michael Villasenor, Karen L. Andes and Matthew C. Freeman, ‘WASH in Schools Empowers Girls’  Education in Masbate Province and Metro Manila, Philippines: An assessment of menstrual hygiene management in schools’, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, November 2013.

Sierra Leone – Caruso, Bethany A., Alexandra Fehr, Kazumi Inden, Murat Sahin, Anna Ellis,  Karen L. Andes and Matthew C. Freeman, ‘WASH in Schools Empowers Girls’ Education in Freetown, Sierra Leone: An assessment of menstrual hygiene management in schools’, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, November 2013.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Dignity and Social Development, Hygiene Promotion

Tagged , , , , ,

Proceedings of the Menstrual Hygiene Management in Schools Virtual Conference

Posted on April 30, 2014 by | Leave a comment

WASH in Schools Empowers Girls’ Education: Proceedings of the Menstrual Hygiene Management in Schools Virtual Conference 2013.

There is increasing interest in exploring and addressing the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) barriers facing schoolgirls and female teachers in educational settings. Around the globe, WASH in Schools (WinS) focuses on fostering social inclusion and individual self-respect – and addresses MHM as a key agenda. By offering an alternative to the stigma and marginalization associated with hygiene issues, integrating MHM into WinS empowers all students, and especially encourages girls and female teachers. mhm

Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and UNICEF convened the Second Annual Virtual MHM in WinS Conference at UNICEF Headquarters in New York City on 21 November 2013. Building on recommendations from the MHM 2012 virtual conference, the 2013 conference focused on the research
tools and instruments being used to explore MHM barriers and practices and to evaluate the interventions being trialed or implemented in various contexts.

The one-day event brought together over 150 participants online, involving a range of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and MHM experts, global health and education researchers, social entrepreneurs and policymakers – from academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, advocacy organizations and UNICEF country offices implementing MHM-related activities.

Using WebEx, 16 presentations were made from countries around the world, on a wide range of MHM research being conducted in educational settings. The presentations focused on: (1) the tools and and instruments utilized to explore MHM requirements of schoolgirls; and (2) the tools/instruments utilized for monitoring MHM interventions for schoolgirls.

Leave a comment

Posted in Dignity and Social Development, Sanitation and Health

Tagged , ,

Impact of WASH in improving health of school children reviewed

Posted on January 2, 2014 by | Leave a comment

More attention should be given to the assessment of nutrition practices when assessing the impact of WASH on the health of school children. We also don’t know enough about the long term impact of WASH interventions on child health. These are some of the conclusions that researchers from the Center for Global Health and Development at the the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) drew from a review of the literature [1].

Dr. Ashish Joshi and research assistant Chioma Amadi reviewed the impact of water treatment, hygiene, and sanitary interventions on improving child health outcomes such as absenteeism, infections, knowledge, attitudes, and practices and adoption of point-of-use water treatment.  For their final analysis they selected 15 peer-reviewed English-language studies published between 2009 and 2012 that focused on the effects of access to safe water, hand washing facilities, and hygiene education among school-age children.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Hygiene Promotion, Publications, Research

Tagged , , , ,

Nov 21, 2013 – Virtual Menstrual Hygiene Management in WASH in Schools Conference

Posted on July 12, 2013 by | Leave a comment

November 21, 2013 – 2nd Annual Virtual Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in WASH in Schools (WinS) Conference Background: The 2nd annual virtual MHM conference will provide an opportunity to share MHM lessons learned with the WASH in Schools (WinS) community around the world with a particular focus on the tools and instruments being utilized to explore the MHM barriers facing girls, and to measure and evaluate interventions being trialed or implemented. The conference will provide an opportunity to:

  • Share MHM related research tools,
  • Share MHM research findings from different countries
  • Share recommendations for adaptation of existing MHM research tools for WINS practitioners.

There has been much research, programming and policy work conducted over the last year since the inaugural MHM conference, and the 2nd annual conference will enable the showcasing of these findings, and continue to move forward the global effort to fill existing gaps in knowledge and advocacy. We will be hosting another joint Columbia University and UNICEF one-day conference on November 21, 2013 that will bring together WASH and/or MHM experts, relevant global health and education experts, UNICEF country offices, academics and organizations from around the world currently implementing MHM-related activities. This one-day event will provide an opportunity to share experiences on a diversity of contexts along with enabling joint discussion on the way forward.

Leave a comment

Posted in Campaigns and Events, Sanitary Facilities

Tagged , ,