Why?
- Children have the right to water, sanitation and health. This
right needs to be fulfilled in schools where children spend
much of their day.
- WASH in schools leads to healthier children and better
educational performance
- By providing gender separated latrines and access to water
and hand washing facilities, students are assured of privacy
and dignity, particularly for girls.
- The promotion of good hygiene behaviour to children can
initiate behaviour changes that last a lifetime
WASH in School facts in Myanmar
•
Only 48% of schools have access to acceptable drinking
water quality
• Students per toilet ratio range from 39 to 105 and the
average is 69
• FGD: most students wash hands without soap as it is not
available in schools
• Significant rural/urban disparities in the availability of
hygiene education classes
• Poor toilet design and cleanliness
• Poor O & M
(source: WASH in schools study, UNICEF 2010)
How to improve?
 Enabling environment: Support Government in
developing the policies, standard & guidelines for
WASH in schools
 Demand creation: Hygiene behavior change
activities (Thant Shin Star Approach), mass
campaign
 Supply: Sustainable access to WASH facilities,
training for teachers
WASH in schools facilities
 Access to sufficient quantities of safe drinking water
 Child friendly toilet with access to water for cleaning and
segregated by gender
 Group hand washing station
 Personal hygiene materials (soap, toilet papers, menstrual
pads)
 Solid waste management (including access to sanitary pads
disposal)
Minimum Standard for WASH in Schools
Water ,Sanitation and Hygiene Standards for Schools in low cost setting : WHO &
UNICEF
Child Friendly Hygiene & Sanitation Facilities in Schools
Child-Friendly Hygiene and
Sanitation Facilities in Schools:
Indispensable to effective
hygiene education: IRC , UNICEF
Thant Shin Star Approach
Thant Shin (Clean) Star Approach is adopted from
the Three Star Approach – UNICEF global
approach for WASH in schools
Principle: simple, scalable and sustainable
Key Characteristic of the 3 star approach
Important factors
- School commitment to take the overall
approach and begins to make the necessary
changes
- Local action and community support
- Local government support
Monitoring and certification
A certification scheme recognizes
and rewards schools & communities
Options/components:
-
Carried out by school inspectors/ third
parties
-
Participatory component: school staff,
community, pupils
-
Incorporate sustainability(e.g. timelimited certificates)
- Certification ceremonies(e.g. on GHD)