"We shall not finally defeat AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that
plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for
safe drinking water, sanitation and basic health care." - Kofi
Annan, United Nations Secretary-General
"Safe water and sanitation are essential to protect children's health and their ability to learn at school. In this sense, they are as vital as textbooks to a child's education.”
A before and after photo of the school water supply. Clean water and adequate sanitation improves attendance in schools, especially for girls.
(Waterlines)
Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director, 1995-2005
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education (WASH) – in – Schools
Thank you for getting involved in the movement to help school children in the developing world have better access to water, sanitation, and hygiene education.
Kenya – “I am 10 years old. Before the installation of water at my school, I would walk to the river to get water for my family, but would become very tired”...more
Bangladesh – A school sanitation program in Bangladesh has increased the enrollment of girls by 11% per year ...more
The Problem Right Now
50% of the developing world’s schools have no access to safe water.
75% of the developing world’s schools do not have adequate sanitation facilities.
It’s as basic as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Schoolchildren need clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education to be able to learn.
Children bear the brunt of the global drinking water and sanitation crisis—the cause of 80% of the sicknesses in the developing world. Worldwide, 1.1 billion people have no access to safe water and 2.6 billion lack sanitation. But the globe’s largest public health problem remains solvable through steady, targeted approaches—and one of the most important is providing clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education (WASH)for schoolchildren.
See video about water and sanitation situation in schools in Guatemala
WASH-in-Schools – The Program WASH in schools is a complete approach that includes the provision of a safe drinking-water source, sanitation facilities and hygiene education. The combination of all three interventions has been shown to reduce diarrhoeal diseases significantly and to increase students’ attendance.
There are many resources available on WASH-in-Schools, please visit the following sites for background materials:
Get Involved – You Can Make a Difference! To get involved please click on the relevant link to find out how you can be part of the WASH-in-School initiative:
Schools – Teachers, students and parents can all get involved by utilizing the creative energy of students to fundraise, learn and educate for solutions to help solve the global drinking water crisis.
Corporations – More corporations are needed to make a positive impact in communities overseas by increasing their support to WASH-in-Schools programs.
Philanthropic Sponsors– Private foundations not yet familiar with WASH-in-Schools should consider adding this as a complement to their existing programs in education, public health, gender equality and poverty alleviation.
Civic Sector – Consider how your club can organize support to help schools in developing countries get a WASH program.
Faith-based Sponsors – To support WASH-in-School projects in need of funding, local congregations and national offices can work with overseas branches of their faith tradition to identify WASH requests.
Individuals – You can support the efforts of U.S.-based non-profit organizations that have experience in providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene to schools. And, simply talking to others about the critical need for safe drinking water and sanitation in schools helps make sure this issue is not ignored.
For more information or to speak to someone in person about WASH-in-Schools, contact Andra Tamburro, Program Director for WASH in Schools Initiative at atamburro (AT) wateradvocates.org or 202-293-4047.
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