Since 2009, we have been promoting school WASH across the country. The journey began with school WASH mapping in 16 districts, in collaboration with SNV and UNICEF. The mapping showed that over 80% of schools lacked functioning handwashing facilities, with no soap to wash hands after critical moments. This mapping became a catalyst for stakeholders to come together to commit towards the improvement of WASH in schools. In 2012, WaterAid Tanzania supported the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) to launch their national school WASH strategic plan 2012-2017.
In terms of our programmatic work, over the last five years, we has reached over 100,000 children in 101 schools with improved access to WASH, with projects funded by AACESS, HMCF and SRAB. These projects have included constructing and improving WASH infrastructure, conducting hygiene training for school children (including setting up school WASH clubs), and ensuring sustainability the school WASH services. Our lessons and experiences from these projects have contributed to informing national-level policy.
The National WASH in Schools guideline
We collaborated with The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and UNICEF to produce the guidelines for school WASH, which set the minimums standards across the country. They were launched in 2017.
