Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Education in Schools and Communities
Much like teachers and books, clean water and clean toilets are basic necessities in schools. Having safe water, clean toilets, and basic hygiene education leads to better health among children, increases in attendance among girls, decreases in general absenteeism in the greater student body, and noticeable improvements in the teaching environment. Yet, in 2005 more than half the world's schools lacked clean toilets, drinking water and hygiene lessons for schoolchildren. Sicknesses related to unsafe water and lack of sanitation affect hundreds of thousands of children in the 5- to 15 age-group, resulting in 443 million missed school days each year. According to one estimate, in sub-Saharan Africa about half the drop-out rate among girls can be attributed to a lack of water and sanitation in schools.
Based on evidence from prior school-based initiatives, GWC believes that scaling-up schools programs and widely sharing their positive results will generate global support for water and sanitation interventions in schools. Our engagement in schools began in 2006 when GWC committed $500,000 to a schools project in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Led by Emory University, the learning from this and future projects will provide us with guidance for all schools investments. (> click to view a video about this project)
GWC funds water, sanitation and hygiene education programs around the world that can be scaled, replicated, and sustained. Working with local governments significantly increases sustainability, and documenting the results allows successful projects to be replicated and built upon. GWC's partner organizations help design monitoring systems to track hand-washing and point-of-use treatment as well as school attendance. From the outset, GWC works closely with potential partners to incorporate lessons learned from previous projects. Partner organizations are urged to self-evaluate and improve programs during implementation.