Emerging concept to improvise the facilities in

schools
 Introduction
O “Every child has the right to a quality
education, which includes drinking
water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
services while at school” - UNICEF.
O The aim is to improve health and
learning performance of school-aged
children and , by extension, that of
their families – by reducing the
incidence of water and sanitation-
related diseases.
 Types of Hygiene
O Personal
- Oral hygiene
- Body hygiene
- Menstrual
hygiene

O Home hygiene
- Kitchen hygiene
- Bathroom
hygiene
 What is WASH?
• WASH is the collective term for Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene.
• WASH aims to provide education, awareness and
funding to supply clean drinking water, sanitation
education to schools and children in
underdeveloped countries
Is this a WASH school?
O Contaminated water through hand
pump used for drinking purposes
O Queue in hand pump for washing
plates in Mid Day Meals
O Toilet is available but dirty and
inaccessible
O Preservation of water and its house-
keeping is always an issue
Why wash in schools
 Improved primary school
attendance, health and cognitive
development
 Greater girls participation in schools
 Personal hygiene behavior that lasts
forever
 Outreach to families and
communities, through the
participation of students in hygiene
promotion
 Greater equity in schools
 School Sanitation Hygiene &
Education (SSHE)
O Combination of hardware and software
components to produce healthy school
environment and to develop or support safe
hygiene behaviors
O Hardware components - drinking water, hand
washing, excreta disposal and solid waste
disposal facilities in school
O Software components - conditions and practices
at school regarding prevention of water and
sanitation related diseases.
Why is water important in
schools
O Children can achieve more when
both their health and learning needs
are met
O Ensuring free access to water and
promoting regular water intake is
vital
O Providing healthy learning
environment is essential
Water-borne diseases -
causes
O Drinking contaminated water
O Water-borne pathogens from
contaminated food and beverages
O Contact from animals or environment
O Spread from person to person
 Common behaviors related to
worm infections
O Unhygienic habits that allow worm eggs to
enter the mouth from hands include:
- Failing to wash hands before eating
- Failing to clean anus and wash hands after
defecating
- failing to wash hands after playing on the
ground
- Allowing dirt to remain under the
fingernails
- Sucking on fingers
 Contd….
O Behaviors that allow hookworms to
penetrate the skin or enter the body
include:
- Walking or working in the field
without wearing shoes or sandals
- Working in fields with bare hands
- Ingesting unwashed raw vegetables
 Prevention
O Use good
environmental
management
O Practice good
personal hygiene
O Drink properly
treated water
O Take food safety
precautions
Girls participation in schools
O Lack of facilities for menstrual
hygiene and management in existing
sanitation facilities (places to change
and wash) can mean absenteeism of
up to 4-5 days in a month.
O Toilets need to be constructed on
safe locations to avoid threat of
abuse and violence (for girls and
boys)
Benefits of wash in schools
O Healthy and protective school environment –
minimizing risk of disease, abuse and exclusion
O Bring pride and commitment among children by
enabling them to become agents of change
O Investment in health and well-being of future
generations.
O Promote gender equity leading to higher girls
school attendance and retention
O Discourage habit of defecation in open
Implementation plan steps
O Promotion of the program
O Implementation planning
O Existing conditions, knowledge and
practices
O Implementation and construction
O Operation and maintenance of
facilities
O Monitoring and evaluation