Status of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools in six African countries (2015)

Undergraduate: Camille Morgan

Faculty Advisor: Georgia Kayser
Department: Biostatistics

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Proper water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) infrastructure prevents contamination of drinking water and thus reduces disease and death. Attention has been focused on recommendations and monitoring of household WaSH, but less emphasis has been placed on school settings, where a vulnerable population spends much of their day. The Sustainability Development Goals will be the first time schools are included in the WaSH development agenda, but the current status of access is unknown. To gauge current levels of WaSH access and infrastructure in schools, we sampled 2269 schools in regions of six countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Mozambique, and Zambia. Using surveys developed from internationally established indicators and field- and lab-based water quality testing, we found 78% of schools sampled reported access to an improved water source; 80% of schools reported an improved sanitation facility, though fewer than 25% of schools had access for all students. Hygiene indicators reflected fewer than 10% of schools had hand-washing facilities on the day of the survey, and all six countries reported fewer than 20% of schools with the recommended menstrual hygiene facilities. These results along with additional indicators reflect low access to sanitation and hygiene in schools. Given the associations between poor sanitation and hygiene access and poor health outcomes, development organizations and governments should emphasize these areas in developing WaSH infrastructure.