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Nepal from 2224 October 2013. Technical sessions on 10 thematic areas including
school sanitation were discussed at the conference. To facilitate discussions on school
sanitation, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and UNICEF/Regional Office
South Asia jointly supported a systematic review and analysis of the various enabling
environments such as policies, strategies, programmes, and resource allocations that
are in place in the eight SAARC countries for improving and sustaining WASH in
schools. This is the analysis report that was presented and discussed at SACOSAN V.
WASH in schools:
from steps to strides
How an enabling environment contributes
to sustainable gains
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Contents
Abbreviations................................................................................................................... v
5. Good practices.....................................................................................................19
Annexes
Govt government
The United Nations General Assembly in July 2010 declared that safe and clean drinking
water and sanitation were essential to the full enjoyment of life. In September of the same
year, the United Nations Human Rights Council affirmed that the right to water and sanitation
was inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health. The combined effect of the two resolutions anchored the legally binding right to
water and sanitation within the framework of the right to an adequate standard of living,
like any other right inscribed in United Nations treaties.
The need to invest in water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in and
around schools is supported by several international agreements, including the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Vision 21, the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, Education for All, the 2005 MDGs Gender Parity Target, and a World Fit for
Children goals.
The Call to Action for WASH in Schools is the result of collaboration between CARE,
Dubai Cares, Emory University Center for Global Safe Water, IRC International Water and
Sanitation Centre, Save the Children, United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), Water
Advocates, WaterAid, Water For People and the World Health Organization (WHO). It calls
on decision-makers to increase investments, and on concerned stakeholders to plan and
act in cooperation, so that all children go to a school with child-friendly water, sanitation
and hygiene facilities.
Great strides have been made in South Asia to safeguard the well-being of children in
schools. Millions of school children now can use safe drinking water, appropriate sanitation
facilities and practice good hygiene. The experience gained over the past decade can
well be applied to sustaining WASH-in-Schools programmes that improve health, foster
learning, contribute to dignity and gender equality, and enable children to participate
as agents of change for their siblings, their parents and the community at large. United
Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan.
The South Asian scenario presents a wide spectrum of diversity and variation ranging from
size, socioeconomic, geographic and political systems and governance, to cultural and
institutional settings.
The focus on WASH in Schools (WinS) gathered force in the last decade with the Dhaka
Declaration of the first South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) in 2003. Signatories
of the Declaration noted that the thrust should be on elimination of open defecation and other
unhygienic practices as well as the promotion of hygienic practices, and that implementers
should focus on the hygienic disposal of childrens faeces among other hygienic practices,
and develop hygiene education in school and community sanitation programmes1.
The Delhi Declaration of 2008 reinforced the above, stating that greater thrust would
be placed on promoting adequate sanitation in schools e.g. separate facilities for boys and
girls, supported by safe drinking water and with adequate child-friendly facilities. Hygiene
education will be incorporated into the school curricula, to promote good hygiene behaviour
and upkeep of facilities.2 Significantly, collaboration among countries to share and exchange
knowledge and the key role of behaviour change communication were also highlighted at
that time.
The Colombo Declaration of 2011 went a step further and stressed the need to raise
the profile of WinS with the objective of ensuring that every new and existing school at every
educational level has functioning, child-friendly toilets, separate for girls and boys, with
facilities for menstrual hygiene management. For the first time the issue of functioning toilets
and menstrual hygiene management were elevated for inclusion in an official statement.
1 http://www.un.org.np/sacosan/uploads/document/file/Dhaka%20Declaration_20120329072932.pdf
2 http://www.un.org.np/sacosan/uploads/document/file/Delhi%20Declaration_20120329073013.pdf
At the Regional WASH in Schools conference held in New Delhi, India in 2012, it was
emphasized that the initiative improves attendance, health and cognitive development,
increases girls participation, establishes positive hygiene behaviours, offers the opportunity
to introduce better WASH practices in families and communities, and addresses issues of
inequality and exclusion. Studies confirm that schools are powerful agents of enabling change
in society. The challenge facing South Asia however is that 40 million children remain out
of school and those who are in schools face the everyday ordeal of accessing toilet facilities.
Often, the available toilets do not function and even when they work, they do not measure
up to the minimum acceptable standards, thus rendering them unfit for use by children.
The key guiding principles that emerged from the 2012 regional conference were:
WASH in Schools is an integral aspect of education and not a stand-alone
programme.
The Ministry of Education should take the lead in setting national standards for
adequate and inclusive access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene
facilities in schools in collaboration with other ministries covering water supply,
sanitation, health, rural development, women and child development, local
government and others.
Highest priority must be given to provide safe drinking water, basic sanitation
and hygiene to all schools, while progressively ensuring compliance with national
standards. Approaches need to allow flexibility in norms, designs and costs for
WinS to suit diverse situations.
Establishing menstrual hygiene management mechanisms, including the safe
disposal of soiled napkins and menstrual hygiene education in all schools, is
imperative.
Increasing convergence between health and WASH as an integral part of a
comprehensive school health programme is also crucial.
In preparation for the Fifth SACOSAN in Kathmandu, Nepal in October 2013, a desk review
was done to assess the enabling environment in the WinS programme of the eight countries
of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The key findings of the desk audit
are presented below.
4.1 Policy
WinS in the eight member countries has evolved over the last two decades. In many cases
the programme started in a project mode with a handful of rural or urban schools supported
by modest funding. Given considerable variations in Human Development Indices among
the countries, the policies adopted are a reflection of the commitment of political leadership
and civil society.
All eight countries have an umbrella rural water supply and sanitation policy (varying
in nomenclature) that provides space for an independent thrust for a WinS initiative to be
implemented, subject to political will and administrative commitment. Even where there is
no specific WinS policy, there is scope for including plans of actions in the wider policy, and
countries with the political determination to do so are leveraging this opportunity.
All countries have a designated lead agency, most often the Ministry of Education, which
plays the important role of coordinating other ministries that have a stake, e.g. the Ministry of
Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Ministry
of Public Health Engineering, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women and Children.
Common concerns and issues noted in order to fast-track towards the set goals:
A robust and well-defined policy with situation analysis is necessary to seek
governmental funding and enter the mainstream planning process;
Positive results demonstrated in countries where WinS is operating under an
alternative framework e.g. Child-Friendly Schools Initiative or School Health
Promoting Programmes proves that where WinS is strongly embedded in a
4.2 Strategy
The WinS programme is based on strategic planning that embraces a vision for the future of
all children, their right to a healthy learning environment, to education, participation and
their educational attainments.
All eight SAARC countries have made WinS programmable by defining its components,
both hardware and software, and defining the activities, processes and expected outcomes.
Countries have defined targets usually uncovered and unreached schools and pre-school
institutions that need to be brought under the WinS.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Ensure WinS has a minimum package approach minimum standards to be
defined and programme costing to be done as appropriate to the local situation
to ensure that all critical components can be accessed by all children and that
quality is not compromised.
A step-by-step method to be instituted in all eight countries, as spelt out in the
Three Star Approach Field Guide to help schools that are lagging behind. While
it is unrealistic to achieve the perfect model in one clean sweep, this approach
can be adapted to the country situation as it is known to be simple, scalable and
sustainable.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Set up guidelines on operation and maintenance defining how it should be done,
by whom, and with which funds;
Define an accountability structure for operation and preventive maintenance and
monitoring by setting up a cleaning protocol;
Ensure that operation and maintenance guidelines are flexible, leaving space
for innovative ideas, while reflecting a realistic budget in the planning process,
which often gives higher priority to new constructions rather than rehabilitation;
Operationalize the national standards and ensure their compliance;
Revisit constructions and designs, including hand washing facilities, urinals,
menstrual management and waste water disposal systems;
Obtain user feedback for revision and redesigning;
Install an appropriate solid waste system and promote this at the school level;
Lay out simple day-to-day as well as a periodical operation and maintenance drill
with assigned and shared responsibilities.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Mobilizing resources has been a major challenge since the inception of the
programme; in some countries, WinS is heavily dependent on external funding,
and consequent uncertainties have hampered proper planning and progress. A
well-articulated policy and POA is a key step in securing funding.
Whether the Ministry of Education is playing the lead agency role or there is a
coordinated ministerial approach, WinS needs to be promoted as a major human
and economic development effort worthy of investment; improved hygiene means
less disease, less absenteeism, better health and better learning opportunities.
Children with knowledge and skills means greater human capacity; access to
WASH facilities means the realization of the equal right to dignity for girls, boys
and differently-abled children.
Governments in all eight countries, realizing the significance of the programme,
have engaged with stakeholders to mobilize resources but major gaps are a
continuing challenge.
Governments should be persuaded to take the lead and engage with multi- and
bilateral agencies to adopt a coordinated approach to scaling up: bringing all
small-scale, scattered projects under one umbrella with standardized designs,
norms and quality checks will help accelerate the programme and make it more
economically viable.
Small NGO-run or faith-based schools should have the flexibility to seek or raise
funds on the basis of their being part of the larger WinS consortium, without
sacrificing their unique strengths.
Lessons may be learnt from India, which does have a network of resource agencies
(key resource centres) and a governmental structure through which training and orientations
are conducted on a regular basis. Despite this advantage, there is still a large unmet need
for various types of skills. In addition, Maldives conducts an e-learning course for teachers.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Strengthen partnerships with other WinS stakeholders in order to adopt a
coordinated approach and pool skills and expertise.
Identify and create a network of institutions (resource centres, technical bodies,
academic institutions, NGOs, civil society organizations, womens associations,
nursing associations, health practitioners) willing to participate in the WinS
movement for better life and a better future for children.
It has been seen that in times of disasters and emergencies, the role of appropriately
equipped institutions in providing support becomes critical. This was well demonstrated
when the 2004tsunami hit South and East Asia. Institutions with technical expertise in water
purification, portable toilets, ecological toilets, waste management and other technologies
were deployed by governments and United Nations agencies to address WASH needs.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Develop a roster of institutions/practitioners willing to participate in WinS and
contribute their skills.
Develop simple terms of reference and financial guidelines so that willing parties
can be engaged and deployed at short notice.
In the countries reviewed, the most well-structured and reliable school-based system
for collecting WinS data is the EMIS. Efforts are ongoing to link WinS to EMIS but the system
design does not adequately take into account the specific WASH data requirements. So,
while EMIS for WinS is active, there is a critical gap in how to measure functionality of
a water point, a toilet or a hand-washing station, or the availability of soap at all times.
Moreover, the available data are often inconsistent. Depending on whether the source of
data is EMIS, Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), the Management Information System
(MIS), the national census, or a separate school sanitation survey as in the case of Sri Lanka,
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
EMIS are operating in all countries but with inadequate inclusion of WinS
indicators. For example, data on functionality of water sources, toilets and
hand-washing stations are not captured at all, rendering the monitoring system
ineffective.
Advocacy is needed to adjust the design of EMIS to include appropriate and
needed WinS data.
Water quality surveillance of school drinking water sources has been lacking from
the very start; some countries test water quality periodically but there is very little
information available about this practice.
With the ambition of scaling up quality WinS, an independent method of reliable
tracking needs to be explored and tried out.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Schools and the education system need to appreciate that good hygiene and
sanitation behaviour are to be observed 24 hours per day. While celebration of
Global Handwashing Day is critical to raise awareness and garner support, and
mass hand-washing across several thousand schools conveys a powerful message,
hygiene practice in schools is a daily life activity that a child has to value and
internalize. On the programmatic side it has to be rigorously followed up by setting
examples, building skills, interactive methods and by monitoring.
Coordination must be strengthened at all levels so that deprived and marginalized
populations can be quickly identified and covered by WinS services with suitable
capacity development.
Common concerns and issues noted for fast-tracking towards the goal
Introduce MHM gradually using the Three Star School approach.
Design disposal systems that are simple, easy to use and environment friendly.
Include gender and equity in teacher training both pre- and in-service.
Keep track of good global experiences that can be replicated/adapted.
Document experiences even if they fail each one contributes to learning.
Urge programme managers to look at equity issues; areas, groups or communities
that suffer deprivation are marginalized WinS should become a priority in these
areas and communities. The POA should build in provision for higher investments
to reach difficult and underserved areas.
Good practices have typically emerged as much out of meaningful planning through
consultative processes as out of trial and error and exploratory approaches. In all cases
when results are noticed analytic documentation have served as an empowering tool to
understand what helped and what hindered. Dissemination of the practices, observational
visits by practitioners have helped in wider replication. Where situations have been diverse
and contexts varied, application of some key principles helped in getting better results.
The Call to Action for WASH in Schools is the result of collaboration between CARE, Dubai
Cares, Emory University Center for Global Safe Water, IRC International Water and Sanitation
Centre, Save the Children, UNICEF, Water Advocates, WaterAid, Water For People and
WHO. It calls on decision-makers to increase investments and on concerned stakeholders
to plan and act in cooperation, so that all children go to a school with child-friendly water,
sanitation and hygiene facilities.
Because every child deserves WASH in Schools, we are calling for renewed commitments to:
(1) Set minimum standards for WASH in Schools. Adopt national, regional and local
standards for WASH in Schools, based on UNICEF-WHO guidelines. The minimum
standards should be specific to each context and based on national action plans
within a concrete time frame. They should allow for gradual improvements to
facilities and hygiene practices.
(2) Monitor WASH in Schools coverage through Education Management
Information Systems. Advocate for the inclusion of WASH in Schools indicators
in EMIS. Analyse data annually and use the findings for advocacy and better
resource allocation. Support the compilation of data on coverage and practices
at the global level to attract attention and funding to WASH in Schools.
(3) Engage with at scale WASH in Schools programmes. Contribute to the bigger
picture by bringing individual or small-scale projects into cooperative initiatives
that effectively reach more schools. Gradual improvements to facilities and
hygiene practices require less investment in operation and maintenance andcan
be sustained with local resources.
(4) Involve multiple stakeholders to support WASH in Schools programmes.
Community members, civil society advocates, the media, students, school staff,
local and regional authorities, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based groups,
publicprivate partnerships, and ministries of education, water, health and finance,
as well as donors, can all support planning and action for WASH in Schools.
(5) Contribute evidence on the impact of WASH in Schools programmes. Local
and global academic communities have expertise that can support the design of
WASH in Schools programmes and chart their impact. Generating and sharing
evidence will provide WASH in Schools advocates with a powerful tool to attract
attention and funding to the sector.
Among the top 15 countries in reducing HDI shortfall are Algeria, Brazil and Mexico, even
though their growth in income per capita averaged only 1%2% a year over 19902012.
Their experience points to the second broad strategy that has paid human development
dividends: giving primacy to state investment in peoples capabilitiesespecially their
health, education and nutritionand making their societies more resilient to economic,
environmental and other threats and shocks.
There is a lesson here: countries cannot rely on growth alone. As the 1993 and 1996
Human Development Reports argued, the link between growth and human development
is not automatic. It needs to be forged through pro-poor policies by concurrently
investing in health and education, expanding decent jobs, preventing the depletion and
overexploitation of natural resources, ensuring gender balance and equitable income
distribution and avoiding unnecessary displacement of communities.
Human Development Report 2013