Effective learning in school is significantly influenced by water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. However, in most schools in developing countries, WASH is often inadequate. The study focused on the accessibility, availability, quality, and sufficiency of WASH in public schools. This cross-sectional study employed the use of an observational checklist where 29 self-administered questionnaires on WASH were administered to Headteachers of the selected schools. The study area was divided into six grids using ArcGIS 9.3©, and from each grid, five schools were selected. However, in the northeastern part of the municipality four sample schools were chosen, since that area had fewer schools. The bacteriological quality (fecal coliforms) of water from the schools was assessed for health safety. The R software and Microsoft Excel were used for data analysis. The study showed that 37.9% of schools had access to potable water but 27.5% of these sources were fecally contaminated. Though 93.1% of the schools had toilet facilities, 77.8% were shared by both teachers and students. The study further showed that 96.6% were gender-segregated, 59.3% lacked toilet bins whiles 41.4% practiced open defecation. Hygiene facilities were lacking as 75.9% of the schools lacked hand washing facilities and all the schools lacked menstrual hygiene facilities. Solid waste and toilet facilities were poorly managed, contributing to open defecation in the schools. Generally, WASH in most of the schools was not satisfactory since they lacked facilities, policies, funds, sensitization, and proper maintenance. The study recommends that WASH facilities should be improved by all stakeholders.
Published in | American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering (Volume 5, Issue 1) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13 |
Page(s) | 15-20 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, Basic Schools, Health
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APA Style
Samuel Kojo Abanyie, Ebenezer Ebo Yahans Amuah, Nang Biyogue Douti, George Owusu, Charles Casmed Amadu, et al. (2021). WASH in Selected Basic Schools and Possible Implications on Health and Academics: An Example of the Wa Municipality of Ghana, West Africa. American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 5(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13
ACS Style
Samuel Kojo Abanyie; Ebenezer Ebo Yahans Amuah; Nang Biyogue Douti; George Owusu; Charles Casmed Amadu, et al. WASH in Selected Basic Schools and Possible Implications on Health and Academics: An Example of the Wa Municipality of Ghana, West Africa. Am. J. Environ. Sci. Eng. 2021, 5(1), 15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13
AMA Style
Samuel Kojo Abanyie, Ebenezer Ebo Yahans Amuah, Nang Biyogue Douti, George Owusu, Charles Casmed Amadu, et al. WASH in Selected Basic Schools and Possible Implications on Health and Academics: An Example of the Wa Municipality of Ghana, West Africa. Am J Environ Sci Eng. 2021;5(1):15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13
@article{10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13, author = {Samuel Kojo Abanyie and Ebenezer Ebo Yahans Amuah and Nang Biyogue Douti and George Owusu and Charles Casmed Amadu and Barikisu Alhassan}, title = {WASH in Selected Basic Schools and Possible Implications on Health and Academics: An Example of the Wa Municipality of Ghana, West Africa}, journal = {American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering}, volume = {5}, number = {1}, pages = {15-20}, doi = {10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajese.20210501.13}, abstract = {Effective learning in school is significantly influenced by water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. However, in most schools in developing countries, WASH is often inadequate. The study focused on the accessibility, availability, quality, and sufficiency of WASH in public schools. This cross-sectional study employed the use of an observational checklist where 29 self-administered questionnaires on WASH were administered to Headteachers of the selected schools. The study area was divided into six grids using ArcGIS 9.3©, and from each grid, five schools were selected. However, in the northeastern part of the municipality four sample schools were chosen, since that area had fewer schools. The bacteriological quality (fecal coliforms) of water from the schools was assessed for health safety. The R software and Microsoft Excel were used for data analysis. The study showed that 37.9% of schools had access to potable water but 27.5% of these sources were fecally contaminated. Though 93.1% of the schools had toilet facilities, 77.8% were shared by both teachers and students. The study further showed that 96.6% were gender-segregated, 59.3% lacked toilet bins whiles 41.4% practiced open defecation. Hygiene facilities were lacking as 75.9% of the schools lacked hand washing facilities and all the schools lacked menstrual hygiene facilities. Solid waste and toilet facilities were poorly managed, contributing to open defecation in the schools. Generally, WASH in most of the schools was not satisfactory since they lacked facilities, policies, funds, sensitization, and proper maintenance. The study recommends that WASH facilities should be improved by all stakeholders.}, year = {2021} }
TY - JOUR T1 - WASH in Selected Basic Schools and Possible Implications on Health and Academics: An Example of the Wa Municipality of Ghana, West Africa AU - Samuel Kojo Abanyie AU - Ebenezer Ebo Yahans Amuah AU - Nang Biyogue Douti AU - George Owusu AU - Charles Casmed Amadu AU - Barikisu Alhassan Y1 - 2021/04/26 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13 T2 - American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering JF - American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering JO - American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering SP - 15 EP - 20 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-7993 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20210501.13 AB - Effective learning in school is significantly influenced by water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. However, in most schools in developing countries, WASH is often inadequate. The study focused on the accessibility, availability, quality, and sufficiency of WASH in public schools. This cross-sectional study employed the use of an observational checklist where 29 self-administered questionnaires on WASH were administered to Headteachers of the selected schools. The study area was divided into six grids using ArcGIS 9.3©, and from each grid, five schools were selected. However, in the northeastern part of the municipality four sample schools were chosen, since that area had fewer schools. The bacteriological quality (fecal coliforms) of water from the schools was assessed for health safety. The R software and Microsoft Excel were used for data analysis. The study showed that 37.9% of schools had access to potable water but 27.5% of these sources were fecally contaminated. Though 93.1% of the schools had toilet facilities, 77.8% were shared by both teachers and students. The study further showed that 96.6% were gender-segregated, 59.3% lacked toilet bins whiles 41.4% practiced open defecation. Hygiene facilities were lacking as 75.9% of the schools lacked hand washing facilities and all the schools lacked menstrual hygiene facilities. Solid waste and toilet facilities were poorly managed, contributing to open defecation in the schools. Generally, WASH in most of the schools was not satisfactory since they lacked facilities, policies, funds, sensitization, and proper maintenance. The study recommends that WASH facilities should be improved by all stakeholders. VL - 5 IS - 1 ER -