Uganda: baseline on WASH improves primary schools in Kamuli district

Published on: 04/10/2011

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools is globally recognized as a key intervention to promote children’s right to health and clean environment and to influence a generational change in hygiene behaviours and attitudes. PLAN Uganda through a partnership with NETWAS Uganda conducted a baseline on WASH in 2008 to assess the functionality of the WASH sector in the PLAN sponsored schools in Kamuli district. The survey was carried out by members from NETWAS Uganda and a district representative from PLAN Uganda. The researchers were able to meet different pupils as well as the key informants such as teachers, local council members and members of the different water committees. They all shared their views and ideas on how they thought the problems affecting water and sanitation in schools could be improved.

The problems identified ranged from lack of enough water to no access to available latrines in the area.  In one of the schools I visited, a girl name of Prosy explained how there was a big problem in accessing the nearby borehole water since its being shared with the community. She said, ‘when we go to fetch water at the borehole there is always a very long line of people fetching water and sometimes they don’t allow us to fetch water because they think it only belongs to the community.’

The different issues associated with WASH in schools within the district were mainly:

• lack of enough Wash facilities in schools such as wash rooms for girls and sanitary pads disposal ;
• lack of reading resource material on WASH;
• low funding by the government in these schools;
• access to water sources is a problem; and
• lack of trained WASH personnel in these schools.

The results from the baseline were documented by NETWAS Uganda and then the report was shared with PLAN Uganda. PLAN Uganda through its representatives addressed the issues at district level with the concerned parties who were then tasked to follow up on the results of the baseline.

In July 2009, a follow up was done by PLAN Uganda to assess the WASH sector in the schools they sponsored. The report showed that:

• 70 percent of the schools had built wash rooms for girls;
• there was accessibility to reading material on WASH in most of these schools;
• sanitation and hygiene related clubs were introduced in most of the schools: and
• teachers were given training on WASH related issues.

Simon Peter Sekuma, NETWAS Uganda, output from second round Youth Zone training at IRC, see http://www.irc.nl/page/66671