{"id":4688,"date":"2022-05-13T04:01:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T04:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booksofall.com\/tw\/?post_type=product&p=4688"},"modified":"2022-05-20T02:31:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T02:31:23","slug":"progress-on-drinking-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.booksofall.com\/tw\/progress-on-drinking-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Progress on drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene in schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

The report provides updated estimates for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene<\/a> in schools including progress from 2015 to 2019. It highlights the rapid improvement needed to ensure students have access to handwashing facilities with soap and water during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, and to meet associated SDG targets by 2030.<\/p>\n

2030 vision for WASH in Schools<\/p>\n

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development<\/a> is described as a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. This ambitious universal agenda commits all United Nations (UN) Member States to take bold and transformative steps to \u2018shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path\u2019 and \u2018leave no one behind\u2019. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)<\/a> seek to balance social, economic and environmental dimensions of development and include several global targets and indicators related to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools (). Goal 6 aims to \u2018ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all\u2019 and includes targets for universal access to safe drinking water (6.1), sanitation and hygiene (6.2) for all.<\/p>\n

Universal access\u2019<\/a> implies all settings (including households, schools, health care facilities, work and public places), and \u2018for all\u2019 implies services that are suitable for people of all genders and all ages, including people living with disabilities and those in vulnerable situations<\/p>\n

Goal 4 aims to \u2018ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning\u2019 and includes targets to build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe and effective learning environments for all (4.a). This includes providing all schools with access to electricity, computers, the internet, adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities, and basic WASH services.<\/p>\n

The 2030 Agenda states that the global goals and targets are aspirational. Governments are therefore expected to localize them and set their own national targets for WASH in schools. These should be guided by the global level of ambition and by existing international commitments (including the human rights to education and to safe water and sanitation), and take into account national circumstances. To ensure \u2018no one is left behind\u2019, governments are also expected to establish mechanisms to identify the most relevant dimensions of inequality in access to WASH in schools and to monitor progress among disadvantaged groups.<\/p>\n

Accelerating progress in response to COVID-19<\/p>\n

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered an unprecedented global health and economic crisis, which has affected all countries.<\/p>\n

In the 2020 SDG progress report4 , the UN Secretary General warns that the pandemic \u2018imperils progress\u2019 towards the SDGs and urges that \u2018recent gains are protected as much as possible and a truly transformative recovery from COVID-19 is pursued, one that reduces risk to future crises and brings much closer the inclusive and sustainable development required to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change\u2019.<\/p>\n

The global response to COVID-19 has also underlined the importance of WASH, especially hygiene, in households, schools and health care facilities for reducing the transmission of infectious diseases and protecting global health. In June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) launched a new global initiative \u2018Hand Hygiene for All\u2019 which aims to scale up hand hygiene in response to COVID-19 and seize the opportunity to build back better, establishing and sustaining a culture of hygiene across all levels of government and society.<\/p>\n

Governments seeking to control the spread of COVID-19 must balance the risks to public health with the social and economic impacts of lockdown measures. Schools around the world have been closed to reduce transmission, but prolonged school closures will have negative impacts on children\u2019s safety, wellbeing and learning. Access to WASH services is essential for effective infection prevention and control in schools and a major focus of government strategies for the safe reopening and operation of schools during the ongoing global pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"