The consequences of unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) on children can be as negative as deadly. Over 700 children under age 5 die every day of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera, due to a lack of appropriate WASH services. In areas of conflict, children are nearly 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal disease than from the conflict itself. According to the UNICEF WASH report for 2011, globally, approximately 67 million school-age children are not in school, 53% of the girls. Absenteeism and dropout rates are high due in part to the lack of water and sanitation infrastructure and illnesses caused by poor hygiene. Key Components of WASH in Schools are oral hygiene and proper hand washing; Provision of safe and adequate water supply; Provision of toilet, hand washing, and drainage facilities; Environmental sanitation (including the elimination of breeding grounds for mosquitoes, vectors of the malaria parasite) and solid waste management. Purpose of WASH in Schools: The WASH program works on long-term prevention and control measures for improving health, reducing poverty, and improving socio-economic development as well as responding to global emergencies and outbreaks of life-threatening illnesses. Instituting WASH in schools serves as a starting point for getting the community sensitized on the importance of good hygiene and sanitation practices. Of ought most value at QIS Yaoundé, every child is an achiever; cognizant of this picture, Sustainable Development Goal, SDG number 6 applies to each student as an individual, with strict follow-up of good hygiene practices on the school campus to guarantee good success
Key components of WASH at QIS:
Proper hand washing and oral hygiene:
Proper hand washing with soap and clean running water is the most readily available method of getting rid of harmful (pathogenic) microorganisms whose persistence on the body ends up causing disease.
At QIS Yaoundé, hand washing facilities have been put in place to promote proper hand washing. A WASH club is set up in the institution through which activities on good hygiene practices enhance information outreach to the community at large. Through the school WASH club workshops, the QIS community is thought how to prepare detergents for the purpose of hand washing, floor cleaning, toilet cleaning, and disinfection. Making use of the products of students’ knowledge application, there is a great and appreciable reduction in the pathogen population.
Provision of safe and adequate water supply
From its creation and throughout its operation, hygiene and sanitation practices have always been under close watch at Quality International School. WASH record-keeping thrives well at this institution. Undoubtedly, owing to the close monitoring and evaluation of WASH practice, the school has not recorded any cases of waterborne disease signs and symptoms. WASH activities at QIS extend their benefits to the environment. The school lavishes in the comfort of a well-treated borehole supply of mineral water and extends its supply to the benefit of neighboring homes. Students apply their knowledge of science to treat the water for washing purposes.
Provision of toilet facilities: WASH activities at QIS Yaounde are based on current monitoring and evaluation reports of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Program UNDP), the World Food Program (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO), with special emphasis laid on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) with ought most to focus put on SDG number 6. As predicted by the 2022 UN monitoring and evaluation report on indicators of the SDGs, the institution continually takes measures to optimize the sustainability of WASH practices both on and off campus. Through WASH activities in school, QIS has as a goal, to reach out to the entire Cameroonian community with information and practical applications of good hygiene and sanitation practices. Hygiene and sanitation is a watchword at the institution, with each member of the school family being a WASH advocate. WASH in school activities at QIS does best to keep gender bias at zero. Toilet facilities are partitioned and are very gender friendly. Students are taught toilet cleaning methods to be used on a daily basis; this saves the female students and female staff from eminent infections that would emanate from poor toilet hygiene and sanitation.
Environmental sanitation and solid waste management This contributes to the elimination of breeding grounds for mosquitoes, vectors of the malaria parasite; this practice contributes in turn, to curbing the death rate resulting from malaria. QIS Yaoundé monitors her WASH progress in this light by building a strong and robust drainage system of the school infrastructure, channeling all stormwater completely out of the school premises; this keeps the school population free from any outbreaks of water-related diseases. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practice is fast gaining progress and growth at QIS as zeal and enthusiasm gain ground with each member willing to be an active team part player.
