Abstract
Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) in schools contributes to better health and educational outcomes among school-aged children. In 2012, UNICEF Nicaragua and partners conducted a cross-sectional survey of WaSH in 526 schools in 12 low socio-economic status municipalities in Nicaragua. The survey gathered information on: school characteristics; teacher and community participation; water and sanitation infrastructure; and hygiene education and habits. Survey results were analyzed for associations between variables. WaSH coverage was significantly higher in urban than rural areas. Presence of drinking water infrastructure (43%) was lower than sanitation infrastructure (64%). Eighty-one percent of schools had no hand washing stations and 74% of schools lacked soap. Sanitation facilities were not in use at 28% of schools with sanitation infrastructure and 26% of schools with water infrastructure had non-functional systems. Only 8% of schools had budgets to purchase toilet-cleaning supplies and 75% obtained supplies from students’ families. This study generates transferable WaSH sector learnings and new insights from monitoring data. Results can be used by donors, service providers, and policy makers to better target resources in Nicaraguan schools.
Highlights
Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) in schools is important for human health and well-being
The analysis of WaSH in schools data from disadvantaged regions of Nicaragua indicates that water coverage at schools was significantly lower than sanitation coverage, across both urban and rural areas
Not all improved water sources are necessarily free of fecal contamination, so access to “safe” water coverage may be lower than reported in this survey since water quality testing was not conducted [22,23]
Summary
Sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) in schools is important for human health and well-being. Some of these benefits have yet to be fully achieved in low- and middle-income countries, due to low WaSH coverage. Inadequate WaSH in schools results in adverse health outcomes among children including infectious, gastrointestinal, neuro-cognitive and psychological illnesses [5]. WaSH conditions have been reported to reduce educational outcomes in children by contributing to absenteeism [6,7,8,9] and impaired cognitive abilities [10,11,12]. Bartlett summarized the impact of unsanitary conditions and diarrheal disease on child malnutrition and mental and social development, including IQ, school achievement levels, working memory, and behavioral problems [11]. The quality of sanitation facilities in schools can impact attendance rates of girls, especially once they have started to menstruate [13], while a more recent literature review found inconclusive evidence on the subject [14]
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