Project profile — East Africa School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Program

• Kenya (29.15%)
• Ethiopia (41.70%)
• Uganda (29.15%)

• Water supply - large systems:
Water supply - large systems (14021) (20.00%)
Sanitation - large systems (14022) (20.00%)
Basic drinking water supply (14031) (20.00%)
Basic sanitation (14032) (20.00%)
Education and training in water supply and sanitation (14081) (20.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Children's issues (significant objective)
• Disability (significant objective)

The project addresses the need to improve poor water and sanitation conditions common to many schools in poor rural and urban East Africa. Project activities support water and sanitation facility construction, community participation, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and capacity-building to local partner organisations. It assists 183 primary schools in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya over a 60 month period. All water supply and sanitation facilities are constructed on school ground/property, and are complemented by hygiene education, planned and implemented, in collaboration with students, teachers and their communities. At each school, a School Management Committee is formed and trained to ensure the operation and maintenance of the new systems, and to help the promotion and application of good hygiene practices at the school and in their homes. The direct beneficiaries are 128,600 students, teachers and school staff. Indirect beneficiaries include 300,000 parents, care givers and other household members of the school community. NGO partners are: Cheshire Foundation Action for Inclusion/CFAI (Ethiopia), Rural Community Development Organisation/COWDO (Ethiopia), Oromo Self-Reliance Association/OSRA (Ethiopia), Water Action/WACT (Ethiopia), Kenya Water for Health Organisation/KWAHO (Kenya), Sustainable Aid in Africa International/SANA (Kenya), Community Integrated Development Initiatives/CIDI (Uganda), Voluntary Action for Development/VAD (Uganda), Joint Effort to Save the Environment/JESE (Uganda).

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: 183 primary schools in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda with potable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities that meet the local statutory requirements and the demands of girls, boys, women and men; increased initiative and responsibility taken within target schools and their host community to both manage school WASH facilities and improve health and hygiene awareness of girls, boys, women and men in the schools and the surrounding community; improved effectiveness and gender responsiveness of WaterCan’s local partners to design and implement school-based WASH programming.

Results achieved by the School WASH Program (SWASH) in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda as of December 2017 include: (1) 170 primary schools benefited from water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions such as rainwater harvesting tanks, boreholes, protected springs, hygienic latrines for boys and girls, washing rooms , waste disposal facilities, menstrual hygiene management and drinking water fountains or points; (2) vulnerability to preventable hygiene and sanitation-related health problems was reduced among 124,789 students, teachers, and school staff, including 240,000 indirect beneficiaries who are parents, caregivers and other household members; (3) School Management Committees were formed and trained at each school to ensure that the operation and maintenance of the new systems was effective and sustainable, and to help the promotion and application of good hygiene practices at the school and at home; and (4) hygiene education and awareness-raising sessions were held for girls, boys, parents, caregivers and teachers to integrate gender equality and environmental aspects. Results after the final evaluation: Of the 27 schools assessed, 23 (85%) had a functional water supply. 100% of schools are open defecation free (18% at baseline). 100% of schools have access to an improved source of water. 85% of schools have improved drinking water available at least 90% of the time. The national guideline for the number of toilets per the number of girls was met in 62% of schools, exceeding the target of 60% and for boys the guideline number was met in 72% of schools, exceeding the target of 50%.

• Proactive disclosure