Improving school sanitation in a sustainable way for a better health of school children in the EECCA and in the new EU member states

In the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Region, 120 million people do not have access to safe drinking water, and even more lack access to hygienic sanitary facilities. Better management of water and sanitation would prevent over 30 million cases of water-related disease per year in the region. Few data are collected or known about the access to adequate water supply and safe sanitation for public institutions such as schools. Since the independency in former Soviet states like Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and others, existing central water and sewage systems are often badly maintained and no longer functioning. Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) gained experience on issues of water and sanitation in the rural areas of the new assessed EU countries Romania and Bulgaria and in 10 EECCA countries. WECF observed in the rural areas of those countries the most worse conditions of school sanitation: Groundwater is polluted by infiltration of nitrates and micro organism. Visiting the latrine is a threat to children’s health. The toilets are far away from the school, do not give privacy and are unhygienic. As much as possible, children and school staff try to avoid a visit of the facility by a low intake of liquids. During the period of menstruation girls prefer to stay at home. In demonstration projects, WECF has improved the sanitary condition of the schools and shown how to manage human excreta in an affordable, safe and sustainable way. It was shown, that even without a connection to the central water or sewage system, the dry urine-diverting toilet is a very fast and easy tool to improving the sanitary conditions of schools in an affordable and sustainable way, and to protect groundwater against infiltration of human excreta. School sanitation is an issue that needs the attention of regional, national and international policy makers. In order to improve the sanitary conditions in schools, regulations on the adoption of urine-diversion systems and the reuse of the human excreta in agriculture are needed.

WECF and partner observed in its projects in rural areas of the new accessed EU countries Bulgaria and Romania, and in the EECCA region a severe lack of safe school sanitation, where outdoor pit latrines far away from the school without hand washing facilities, are commonly found. It was shown, that even without a connection to the central water or sewage system, the dry UD toilet is a very fast and easy tool to protect groundwater against infiltration of human excreta. It was found that the new approach of ecological (sustainable) sanitation improved the sanitary conditions of the school in an affordable and sustainable way, and thus improved health conditions. It was also shown that indoor water less UD toilets for schools with for example 360 children (Ukraine and Armenia) contributes greatly to the comfort and safety of the children and thus improved learning capacity. School sanitation is an issue that needs the attention of regional, national and international policy makers, although good examples of sustainable school sanitation attract the attention of the decision makers. But a better regulation on the adoption of urine-diversion systems and the reuse of the human excreta in the agriculture is a condition for a scaling-up of UD facilities. Students of universities, local experts and NGOs should be trained for implementation and spreading information.