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Tanzania SWASH Guidelines

Tanzania’s SWASH Guidelines play a crucial role in addressing the pressing challenge of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in schools across the country. These guidelines, introduced by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in 2016, provide a comprehensive framework for improving WASH facilities in primary and secondary schools.

In this article, we explore the key elements of the Tanzania SWASH Guidelines and their significance in overcoming barriers to educational success. We delve into the importance of conducting assessments to identify areas for improvement, the role of hygiene education in promoting healthy behaviors, and the need for community involvement in sustaining WASH initiatives. By adhering to these guidelines and implementing sustainable WASH practices, we can create safe and conducive learning environments that contribute to the overall well-being and academic achievements of Tanzanian students. Join us as we delve into the transformative impact of the Tanzania SWASH Guidelines in promoting a healthier and more successful educational system.

Tanzania SWASH Guidelines

The Importance of Tanzania SWASH Guidelines

In order to understand the significance of the Tanzania SWASH Guidelines, it is essential to recognize the impact of inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities on student health and educational outcomes. Here are key points highlighting the importance of these guidelines:

  • Health and Well-being: Insufficient access to clean water, proper sanitation, and hygiene facilities can contribute to the spread of diseases and negatively impact the overall health and well-being of students. The Tanzania SWASH Guidelines aim to address these issues by providing a framework for the provision of safe and hygienic environments in schools.
  • Academic Performance: Poor WASH facilities in schools can have a detrimental effect on academic performance. Lack of access to clean water, functional toilets, and proper handwashing facilities can lead to increased absenteeism, reduced concentration, and lower cognitive abilities. By implementing the Tanzania SWASH Guidelines, schools can create an environment that promotes better learning outcomes.
  • Gender Equality: Inadequate menstrual hygiene management facilities can disproportionately affect girls’ education. The guidelines emphasize the importance of separate and appropriate facilities for girls, ensuring they have equal opportunities to attend school and succeed academically.
  • Disease Prevention: Proper sanitation and hygiene practices are crucial for preventing the spread of infectious diseases, such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. The Tanzania SWASH Guidelines provide guidelines for waste management, handwashing facilities, and cleanliness maintenance, promoting a healthier school environment and reducing the risk of disease transmission.
  • Sustainable Development Goals: The Tanzania SWASH Guidelines align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 6, which aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all. By adhering to these guidelines, Tanzania is making significant progress towards achieving SDG targets and improving the overall quality of education and life for its students.

By recognizing and implementing the Tanzania SWASH Guidelines, schools in Tanzania can make significant strides in improving student health, enhancing educational outcomes, promoting gender equality, and contributing to sustainable development goals. These guidelines provide a comprehensive framework for creating a safe, healthy, and conducive learning environment for all students.

The Problem

School is meant to help children and youths succeed and thrive. However, many Tanzanian students are fighting to stay healthy because it is difficult for their schools to provide acceptable levels of water, sanitation, and hygiene. In 2010, UNICEF, SNV, and WaterAid conducted a SWASH (School Water Sanitation and Hygiene) mapping survey in 2,697 schools located in 16 districts in Tanzania. As the statistics below indicate, the survey showed that the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene in pre-, primary and secondary schools was lamentable. The situation especially results in reduced cognitive function and learning and a high number of absences due to WASH-related diseases and poor menstrual hygiene management. Issues, such as poor sanitation, a lack of doors on latrines, and a lack of access to menstrual products, lead to girls being denied an equal opportunity to succeed academically compared to their male peers.

Guidelines for Successful School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (SWASH)

To address these barriers to educational success, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology created a National Guideline for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Tanzania Schools in 2016 to implement improvements that would lead to efficient and adequate provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene in primary and secondary schools. Ensuring that students and teachers are educated about WASH and provided with proper WASH facilities that meet the defined guidelines leads to increased learning, attendance, and overall success of students.

Intervention and Assessment

A crucial first step towards changing SWASH is planning the appropriate interventions after conducting an assessment of the improvements needed at a school to provide adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities and thus guarantee a safe environment for learning. Assessments and intervention steps enable administrators, government partners, and other stakeholders to see a detailed outline of what the successful development of the facilities could look like. The development of such a SWASH plan involves analyzing the current challenges and creating a timeline for targeting the areas that specifically need improvement.

Education around Hygiene and Sanitation 

Constructive and sustainable interventions need to include a strong commitment to effective hygiene education to promote healthy behaviors and proper use of WASH facilities. This helps ensure that facilities are used correctly to maintain cleanliness and promote longevity. Just having a WASH facility has little impact on health outcomes unless the students, faculty, and surrounding community are educated about proper hygiene and sanitation. For younger children, it is helpful to educate them with games and stories, while keeping the information simple for them to understand. Older children will be able to have more complex and in-depth discussions about the importance of good hygiene practices. It is also important that teachers and community members help demonstrate the correct way to use facilities and encourage regular cleaning and maintenance to ensure the longevity and safety of facilities. If WASH facilities are not used properly, they can become a breeding ground for disease and pose severe safety hazards.

One way Maji Safi Group ensures sustainability in our SWASH programs is through organizing teachers and students to launch a School Health Club to lead their school towards healthier environments and habits. Members of the club maintain and clean the WASH equipment, replenish WASH supplies, and continue to teach future students about important health education. Through such peer-to-peer teaching, students become empowered as young leaders in their schools and community.

Hygiene Practices at Home are Equally Important as at School

Encouraging proper sanitary and hygienic behaviors for students at school is a big step for improving student health, but an enabling environment for practicing healthy habits at home must be established as well. This helps ensure that the positive effects on student health are protected in both their school and home life. Effective SWASH projects make sure that the schools, teachers, and students engage with the community to ensure that a ripple of change makes it into the homes. It has been found that parents are likely to embrace proper WASH practices that children bring home from school, and thus adopt them in their homes.

Community Involvement

An important aspect of holistic WASH intervention is getting the community involved in positive changes. This encourages the long-term use and support of SWASH facilities and also maximizes the overall health benefits realized by the community. It is always easier to make lifestyle changes when those surrounding you are also making those changes; therefore, community involvement catalyzes the interventions being made at schools. Getting the community actively involved can be accomplished in many ways, including meetings and events that give students the voice to lead their community in a healthier direction.

Requirements for a proper SWASH facilities include:

  • Adequate water supply from a protected water source that provides safe drinking water and water for personal and environmental cleaning.
  • Latrines and urinals that have washable floors and pits (or septic tanks) that ensure safely stored waste. Schools must have separate latrine blocks for boys and girls to ensure privacy and the necessities for girls to continue to attend schools during menstruation.
  • One hand-washing facility for every 100 pupils with clean water and soap in an accessible location for all (including at latrines).
  • Proper disposal of waste on a daily basis in a safe trash pit or incinerator and proper drainage for wastewater.
  • Proper maintenance of facilities and a high level of cleanliness at the school and in the surrounding areas. There should be a regular checklist that ensures that facilities are maintained, restocked, and repaired as needed.

Our mission

Maji Safi Group will continue to develop programs that provide WASH education and instill proper WASH practices in schools and communities. By preventing common and preventable diseases, we can help transform rural Tanzania. We walk alongside communities as they make behavioral changes and obtain WASH infrastructure, and we provide factual health education that catalyzes healthy habits among our participants.

MSG has always put extra focus on engaging with youths, so that they can bring change for generations to come. Through our School Health Clubs, we are committed to improving SWASH conditions and breaking the silence surrounding menstruation, so girls are not denied the necessities they need to safely stay in school during their cycle.

If we commit to assessing, educating, and implementing sustainable SWASH programs, we can positively impact the future of Tanzanians!

WASH and Child Mortality

In 2015, the UN set the Sustainable Development Goal of having safely managed water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) worldwide by 2030.

This hope has brought the direct need for these improvements to the forefront. Some two billion people have gained access to improved water and sanitation sources. But the work to eliminate WASH issues is far from over – 700 hundred million people still do not have access to improved water sources, 2.5 billion do not use improved sanitation facilities, and 1 billion still practice open defecation.

Poor WASH impacts children in unique ways and specifically affects child mortality rates. Children are especially susceptible to health issues from unimproved water sources because of their developing body systems – digestive, respiratory, lymphatic, etc. Their survival rates from the disease are also much lower when basic sanitation and hygiene resources are compromised. Worldwide, 6,000 children die of water-related diseases every day.

Evidence supporting a connection between child health outcomes and WASH conditions has often been limited and inconsistent. Still, recently, the development world has pushed to reexamine this relationship. The findings indicate that people with access to safe water and proper sanitation facilities have much lower child mortality risks and diarrhea. Historically, the most profound data has been linked to how poor WASH impacts diarrhea-based diseases among children.

WASH and Child Mortality

Importance of WASH in Developing Countries

Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are critical for improving health and well-being in developing countries.
Poor WASH conditions can spread waterborne diseases and increase the risk of death, particularly among children.

In addition to its impact on health, access to WASH is also essential for economic development. This is because it allows for improved productivity and reduces healthcare costs. However, the lack of WASH facilities can also lead to increased gender inequality, as women and girls are often tasked with collecting water and dealing with the lack of proper sanitation facilities.

Investing in WASH initiatives in developing countries is a crucial step toward improving health outcomes, promoting economic growth, and reducing inequality.

The Connection Between WASH and Child Mortality Rates

There is a strong connection between access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and child mortality rates. Children are particularly vulnerable to the health consequences of poor WASH conditions due to their developing immune systems and higher exposure to pathogens in their environment.

The lack of access to clean water sources and proper sanitation facilities can increase the risk of waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea, which is one of the leading causes of child mortality worldwide. Poor hygiene practices in healthcare facilities can also contribute to infections and increase child mortality rates. Therefore, improving WASH conditions has a significant impact on reducing child mortality and improving health outcomes for children.

Importance of WASH in Developing Countries

WASH and Diarrheal Episodes

Children living in rural places plagued by WASH issues experience an average of four to eight diarrheal episodes per year between birth and age two. This suggests that they are exposed to many pathogens during their first two years of life. Diarrhea globally accounts for 1.4 million child deaths per year. The World Health Organization suggests that 58% of these deaths are linked to unsafe water supply, sanitation, and hygiene.

Children are at high risk of being exposed to these dangerous pathogens in public play areas. Child play often occurs when soil and surface water have been infected with pathogens that cause serious health issues when ingested. Human feces is also a major contributor to soil-transmitted bacteria that cause diarrhea and other similar issues in young children. With the continual practice of open defecation in many communities, there are rich opportunities for children to ingest fecal bacteria, which leads to illness and possibly death. Data indicate that safer fecal disposal reduces childhood diarrhea occurrences by 37%. There is much-needed work to end open defecation and install proper latrines and toilets for people to use in these communities.

WASH and Diarrheal Episodes

WASH and Child Health Care 

Another focus area in WASH that would improve overall child health and reduce mortality rates is improved sanitation in healthcare facilities. Having clean water and proper sanitation in delivery rooms and during health services for mothers and babies would help reduce childhood mortality. Fundamental hygiene during labor and delivery, such as cleaning hands and surfaces, reduces the risk of infections and death up to 25%.

There is a great need in Tanzania’s healthcare facilities for more WASH education. Workers must be taught the importance of proper WASH practices, and we must work to ensure the proper equipment is available for them to use.

Improving and Saving Lives

For children to thrive physically and cognitively in their communities, there must be better WASH practices. Fundamental education on things like handwashing, food preparation, and proper waste disposal saves and improves lives. For example, handwashing with soap can reduce diarrheal diseases by 42 to 47%.

Every year, close to 11 million children die worldwide before their 5th birthday, primarily from preventable diseases, and another 300 million suffer from illnesses caused by WASH issues. Maji Safi Group’s mission is to help these numbers drastically decrease in rural Tanzania. Would you join us in saving and improving the lives of these children?

Empowering Tanzanians through Photography

Dear Maji Safi friends,

It is the very first time that I am writing my thoughts for this blog. So first of all let me introduce myself. My name is Christoph Stulz. Soon I will be turning 33 years old, born in Switzerland, proud father of 2 beautiful daughters and working for the Swiss NGO Interteam. I am based in Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania on the picturesque Lake Victoria. My lovely wife is our NGO’s country coordinator so I am also called Interteam’s first lady in Tanzania, thanks to all who gave me this nickname!

 

 I have a very interesting assignment with Maji Safi Group in Shirati as a photographer, videographer, graphic designer, and, last but not least, as a teacher in photography. I get to educate Maji Safi Group’s Community Health Workers, also called Water Ambassadors.

It has been my very first experience in the pedagogic field of teaching adults, so before my first group of Maji Safi Community Health Worker students, I was totally nervous and afraid of standing in front of a group of people, as I am a bit introverted.

But the first workshops in September and October with 3 different groups of Community Health Workers were fantastic! The students were very interested and the goal we set up was reached.

Photography is a daily occurrence here in Tanzania; people get very excited about pictures of themselves. So called “selfies” are already common in the daily lives of Tanzanians. They love to strike a pose in public places when local photographers are doing their small business. And as the smart mobile phones have gotten cheaper and cheaper, today thousands of photographs make their way through What’s App and Facebook in Tanzania.

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

So the idea behind educating the local staff of Maji Safi Group in photography, and later, in videography, is very interesting. The result of this activity is leading to nice pictures made by locals which are totally different photographs you would get if a foreigner makes them, even if this outsider would be the very best professional photographer. Locals see this world here in a very different way from us foreigners. They will automatically get a more sensitive and closer view or access to the local world here in the villages around Shirati, and finally Maji Safi Group will get wonderful photographic material about our different programs and activities. So, all of us are looking forward to seeing more and more photos as a result. I think some of them will turn out like artwork.

water_ambassador_photo_01

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

water_ambassador_photo_02

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

water_ambassador_photo_21

Photo taken by Community Health Worker

During the past 3 workshops, I first explained to each small group of Community Health Workers the different camera types and their parts and simple procedures: like how to turn the camera on and off, how to zoom the lens, how to use the flash. Some of the students haven’t had any experiences with cameras at all before. Others got the sense of it faster, as they had already worked with photography on their mobile phones. So we decided working just with the automatic mode of the cameras because the cameras know much better which settings they should choose for each situation. After the short technical introduction we changed the subject to the even more interesting part about the creativity of photography.  We then talked about the rules which can help us to increase the quality of our pictures to attract or fascinate their future viewers.

All in all, the first workshops were very successful as you can see here a selection of photographs made by our water ambassadors.

I am looking forward to my next time in Shirati when we continue practicing and take a lot more exciting pictures.

Best greetings from Tanzania,

Christoph Stulz