WASH in schools

ESR is a partner with UNICEF New Zealand to deliver a range of programmes that help improve WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) practices in the Pacific.

Kiribati WASH in schools

ESR is a partner to UNICEF New Zealand for the New Zealand MFAT funded project “Kiribati WASH in Schools”. The UNICEF-led project aims to improve the water, sanitation and hygiene of 36 outer island schools in Kiribati. ESR’s role in the project is to provide a technical toolkit resource that will be used by the outer island schools to choose appropriate and affordable water, sanitation and hygiene options along with training in how to use the toolkit.

Solomon Islands Better Learning Environments

Building on the partnership formed for the Kiribati WASH in Schools project, ESR again partnered with UNICEF New Zealand to provide support to the MFAT Partnerships for International Development Fund Solomon Islands Better Learning Environments (SIBLE) project. Based in the Guadalcanal Province, the project (currently in its design phase) will support policy, standards and guidelines development to mobilise schools and communities around the importance of better WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) practices, install WASH facilities, and train students, teachers and committees to use and maintain the facilities. ESR’s contribution is to facilitate the development of the schools WASH technical support model (WASH Safety Planning), including: consultation and participatory design on the support model description, guidelines for school-specific risk assessment and prioritisation, guidelines for maintenance and improvements to existing facilities and practices, process to select appropriate water and sanitation options, and ways to monitor for, avoid and respond to problems.

For more information about this work, contact ESR Senior Science Matt Ashworth.